The Big Question
by Nisa Tunesque
Summary: Musa & Tegryn, Part 4: Musa and Teggy's relationship faces it's biggest test so far... can it survive or is it doomed to failure?
1. A Little Discorda

**Well, here we are - the fourth installment of the Musa & Teggy series. Bios on the new characters can now be found on my forum, Nisa's Corner. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Hugz  
Nisa**

* * *

Cloud Tower. 

It's hardly the most inviting of places on the best of days, but when the weather's as bad as it was when we start this story, it looks very miserable to say the least. It's kind of odd really - even though summer was just getting into full swing, the skies around Cloud Tower always seemed to be gloomy, as though the sun has been banned from shining on it. And yet despite this dark creepy exterior, one room on the inside was filled with happy chatter and laughter.

"Come on, aren't you ready yet?" asked Tegryn. He was sat on a stool, sipping his cup of tea and doing his best to ignore the flickering torches on the walls that surrounded him.

"Yes, we're almost there. Be patient will you?" came Discorda's testy reply from behind a large screen.

"Eep!" Polli moaned.

Tegryn chuckled. "I think it's cool that you pixies get to have your own festival."

"And why not? Fairies aren't the only ones get to party you know."

"Yeah. It's just that I can't picture you getting on down and strutting your funky stuff, that's all. And what's more, I can't believe you and the other elders are dressing up too."

"Heh. It's not just younger pixies that are going in fancy dress, all the pixies are. We just thought we set a good example for the younger ones. There's a theme this year too, and I dare say even you will be able to guess what it is. Come on Polli, we're almost done now. There - you look absolutely marvellous! Okay Tegryn, here I come!"

Discorda stepped out from behind the screen.

"So? What do you think?"

Tegryn stared at her in shock - Discorda looked so... pink. Pink pants and a pink babydoll-style vest top, all topped off with a huge pink frilly bonnet. He'd never seen anything like it - well, not on Discorda anyway.

"Well, what do you think? This year, we're all dressing up as each other! Can you guess who I am?"

"Erm... are you Amore? No I know, you're Chatta! Livi!"

"I'm Piff you dolt!" she said chuckling - she didn't need their telepathic link to tell that he was teasing her, as he enjoyed doing so often. "Come on Polli, show Tegryn your costume."

"Eep!" came her moaning cry again.

"Come on girl," Tegryn said encouragingly. "Don't be shy."

Heartened by Tegryn's soothing words, Polli stepped out grumpily from behind the screen, decked out in an extravagant black and purple outfit, complete with a flamboyant headdress.

"Aww, look at you!" Tegryn said, admiring his little companion. "You're a little Discorda!"

"Eeeep!" she whined.

Tegryn held his arms open. "Aww come on now, what's the matter?"

Polli hopped up into his arms and whispered in his ear.

"What's she saying?"

Tegryn chuckled. "It seems she's not too comfortable dressing up as something or someone she's not, because it's not her real self."

"Ah, I see. I guess that's a pretty big deal for a truth pixie."

"Yeah, I guess so." he said, giving her a comforting cuddle. "Now don't you worry, okay Polli? This is all just a bit of harmless fun."

Polli started whispering to him again.

"Yes, I know you don't like being apart from me and a week seems like a long time, but I'm sure your Aunty Dizzy will look after you."

Discorda glared at him. _'How many times have I asked you not to call me that?'_ she thought to him angrily using their telepathic link, not wanting to upset Polli even more. Tegryn looked back at her with a pleading look on his face. She looked at him for a second, then relented.

_'Okay... just this once...'_ she conceded. "Yes Polli, your... Aunty Dizzy will take care of you, and I'm sure all the other pixies will too. Just you wait, it'll be great fun - you'll have the time of your life!"

"There, you see? Everything's gonna be fine." he said standing up. "Okay, I gotta go now - I wouldn't want to be late for my next lesson. Now Polli, I want you to have as much fun as possible, okay?" he said, kissing her on her cute little nose. Polli grinned and nodded her head as he put her down.

Tegryn turned to Discorda. "Thanks once again for agreeing to look after her." he said as he gave her a hug.

"That's perfectly alright." she said chuckling. "Now off you go, back to school with you!"


	2. Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

Mid-afternoon, and lessons were well underway. Tegryn had done the smart thing and teleported straight into the classroom - there was no way he was going to risk spending hours upon end wandering the hallways and corridors of Alfea... one wrong turn and he'd probably end up in a sewer somewhere and that was the last thing he wanted, especially seeing as this lesson was being taught by Griselda. 

But no, he had got here just in time, and now he stood at the front of the class, reading aloud from his assignment on magic theory under Griselda's critical gaze as his classmates all listened hard to what he had to say, frantically scribbling down notes... well, except Anyuna that is. Just like her classmates, her attention was focused on Tegryn, but not a single word of his was entering neither her memory nor her notebook.

Instead she was merely concentrating on his face, staring up at him dreamily with her head resting in one hand as she leant on her desk. She gazed longingly into his eyes - they were bluer than the deepest bluest sea, a vast ocean in which she could quite happily get lost. Her gaze then moved downwards a bit and she stared intently at his lips, oh those luscious lips, as they read aloud from the paper he held out in front of him. She closed her eyes and imagined them, whispering sweet nothings to her, planting heavenly kisses gently all over her face before meeting her own lips, pressing gently against them, exploring them passionately as he embraced her, running his hands through her jet black hair...

"Anyuna! ANYUNA!" Griselda snapped angrily.

She awoke from her daydream with a start.

"Oh, so you finally decided to join us again. If you really want to sleep, may I suggest waiting until night-time like everybody else?"

"I'm... I'm sorry. I wasn't sleeping."

"It certainly looked like it from where I was sitting. Now pay attention!"

Anyuna sheepishly got herself in order and tried desperately to catch up with the others. She was so angry with herself - she knew this crush was wrong in so many ways, but what's the point of having a sensible head if your heart won't listen and your imagination misbehaves at every opportunity?

* * *

The Winx Club girls, along with the rest of their class, were off-campus. Led by Professor Palladium, they walked through the forest just outside the castle on a wildlife-spotting field trip, except for Musa, who was forced to flutter alongside her friends thanks to her leg still being in plaster from Kaiser's horrific attack over a month ago.

"I bet you'll be glad to get out of that." Layla whispered to her. Musa smiled and gazed down at her leg - all of her friends had written messages plus the odd doodle. Even Tune had joined in, writing a traditional get-well message from some world or other in her own immaculately beautiful handwriting. But pride of place was taken by three simple letters:

**I  
♥  
U**

which Tegryn had thoughtfully written upside-down running up her leg just so she could read it properly whenever she looked down at it. She sighed happily.

"Yeah, it'll be so cool to walk again - and I've only got one more day to wait too. Still, my wings are getting stronger thanks to all this exercise!"

They were interrupted by Palladium's excited whisper. "Shh! Look over there." he said, pointed at a brown bird with red spots running down its long tail sitting on a branch above their heads. "It's a Greater Spotted Aria Bird. It's tail feathers can be used to make a Sweet Music potion."

"What's a Sweet Music potion?"

"It's a potion that, when drunk, enables the user to make the object of their desires fall in love with them just by singing to them. Let's see if we can get a closer look, and maybe even one of its feathers." he said as he slowly tiptoed towards it. All of a sudden, the quiet of the forest was disturbed by a cellphone's loud ringtone. The Aria Bird flew away. Everyone looked at Layla, who hurriedly fished her phone out of her purse and looked at the screen.

**JASON CALLING**

"Ooh, Jason's calling!" said Stella teasingly. "Come on, hurry up and answer it."

Layla did as she was told, not that she needed Stella's nagging to speak to her new boyfriend. "Hey you!" she said sweetly, listening closely to what he had to say whilst occasionally giggling like a little schoolgirl. "Wow, that sounds cool... yes, I'd love to... okay, see you at seven. Byeeee! Love you too! Mwah! Mwah!"

She put her phone away and looked up coyly at her friends, blushing slightly. "Jason's found this really cool restaurant in Majix City - he's taking me there tonight!"

"Ooh, I love you too! Mwah! Mwah!" Stella and Bloom teased.

"Oh stop it you guys!" said Flora as she put her arm around her rather embarrassed friend. "Don't you think it's cool that she's so happy now?"

"She's right." said Bloom hugging Layla as an apology, just in case her feeing got hurt. "Everything's so cool right now - we're all madly in love, things are totally peaceful... I hope things never change."

"That is SO true." said Musa. "And anyway... who needs love potions when we have such great boyfriends?"


	3. Recuperation & Research

It was the following evening, and Musa stretched out on the sofa dressed in her favourite pink pyjamas in a state of total bliss. Her leg was fully healed and out of plaster at long last, but it ached so much and felt so stiff after all that time being immobile, so Tegryn, being the good boyfriend that he was, sat at the end of the sofa with her foot resting on his lap as he massaged it carefully.

"Oh man, that is SO good!" she moaned happily as he hit a sensitive spot at the ball of her toes.

"You're certainly quite the expert masseuse - where did you learn to do that?" asked Tecna.

Tegryn smiled. "My grandmother taught me. She's a master of ancient shiatsu techniques. She even taught me one or two moves that can be used in self-defence."

"Self defence massage? You're kidding us, right?" said Stella, looking rather surprised.

"No. It can be quite effective when it's done right. I never quite got the hang of it - well, I'm not as good as her anyway." he replied as shifted up the sofa so he could get to work on Musa's knee.

"Mmmmm, I'd never had guessed." Musa said smiling as she felt the numbing pain in her leg slowly ebbing away with every stroke of Tegryn's skilled hands - she hadn't felt so cosy and calm in a very long time. "You could probably relax an opponent into submission!"

Tegryn chuckled. "Actually, you're not far off the truth." He sighed happily. "Speaking of truth, I wonder how Polli's enjoying the Pixie Festival... and more importantly, I wonder what costume Tune's wearing!"

"Oh, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the library, Anyuna was hard at work, delving into as many books on emotion-based magic as she could find. After that embarrassing display yesterday, she'd decided that she couldn't trust herself to fall out of love with Tegryn, and so she busied herself trying to find a magical remedy. Unfortunately for her, her luck wasn't in.

"Argh! This is hopeless..." she muttered to herself.

"Hi Yuni, what ya doing?"

Anyuna jumped and turned around with a start, before breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh Layla, thank goodness it's you."

Layla looked at all the books and smiled. "You're trying to find a way of getting rid of your crush?"

"Yeah," she said despondently. "I've tried so hard to get him off my mind, but I can't. And what's more, it's been getting worse these past few days. Just yesterday, I embarrassed myself in front of everyone."

"How?"

"Daydreaming. You don't wanna know what I was thinking about, but it was pretty intense. It would be so nice if something was to come of it, but I know it won't, so that's why I'm doing this."

"Found anything?"

"Nothing at all. It's all love potion this, love spell that, but nothing on how to make me fall OUT of love. If only there was some way to make me just forget my feelings for him."

"Forget your feelings? Hmmm..." Layla said thoughtfully. "How about hypnosis?"

"Hypnosis? You mean, hypnotise me?"

"Yeah. I remember the guys telling me something... it was the year before I arrived in Alfea, on the Day of the Rose. Darcy hypnotised Riven into falling in love with her - they went steady for quite a while before she dumped him."

"That's great, but there's just one teensy-weensy little problem - what makes you think Darcy would want to help me?"

"Who said Darcy would help you? She's not the only one round here who knows hypnosis, you know."

Anyuna looked at her for a while, puzzled. "But, who else knows that sort of magic...?", she asked before it dawned on her. "TEGGY!" she cried with a click of her fingers. "Of course, Teggy knows that magic, doesn't he? Oh Layla, you're an absolute genius!"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far! First of all, we gotta find a way of getting him to help you without letting him know your true feelings - I assume you still want them kept secret?"

"Of course. And don't you worry, I'll think of something... in fact, I just have. Oh, it's a good job we're going shopping tomorrow, and I know the perfect thing to buy..." 


	4. Very Hot Dog

It was a typical summer's Sunday afternoon - the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the girls of Alfea were happily doing what teenage girls seem to do best... shopping. Round and round the shops and boutiques of Majix City they traipsed, with their ever-obedient boyfriends in tow carrying their shopping like the true gentlemen they are. 

As they walked past one of the city's finest hairdressers, Mimi and Nini looked at each other, whispered something between them and giggled.

"Hey guys, we're just going in here." Mimi called out to them.

"Yeah, meet you in the park later!" Nini added as they dashed into the shop.

"Laters!" Tegryn shouted after them, smiling. He really enjoyed the twins' company - their lightheartedness and almost childlike love for life made them great fun to hang out with, especially on a happy day out like this.

Just then, Anyuna gasped. "Ooh yes, that's right!"

"What's right?" Tegryn asked.

"Hmmm? Oh, I just remembered, there's this really beautiful necklace I've had my eye on for a while." she said, pointing to a jewellers shop. "Might as well get it while I'm here - I'll meet up with you later, okay?"

"Okay, see ya!" Tegryn said before turning to Musa. "At this rate, we're gonna left all on our own."

"What, and you're complaining!" she replied with a cheeky glint in her eye. They both laughed out loud as they reached the park, making their way over to a large old oak.

"Okay Snookums, do the honours please!" said Stella.

"Certainly your majesty!" he joked as he unfolded a large picnic blanket in the shade of the huge tree. Everyone sat down on the rug and started to unpack the sumptuous picnic they had brought with them, except for Layla and Jason who were more interested in playing with a frisbee. Musa and Tegryn sat together and opened their bags of shopping, admiring the CDs and clothes they'd bought for themselves. Charlotte came over and knelt down in front of Tegryn.

"Teggy? I'm just going over there to get something for me and Riven." she said, pointing to a fast-food stall. "Would you like anything?"

"That's very kind of you, but I'm okay, thanks."

"Are you sure? Go on, it's my treat."

"No, really..."

"Please? I insist." she pleaded.

"Oh well, if you really insist. I'll have, um... I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okay!" she said as she ran off.

"That was rather nice of her, wasn't it?" said Riven as he sat down next to him and Musa. "I've noticed she's been acting ultra-nice to you for a while.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've noticed she's been acting like that ever since she found out I'm afraid of fire. When she asked me if I was actually afraid of her because she's a fire fairy, I thought she was only joking. But, now I'm not so sure... surely that can't be it."

"Actually you're not far off the mark there."

"Aren't I?"

"No. We were talking about it the other day. She told me she feels responsible for you getting your phobia in the first place."

"What! You mean she thinks it's HER fault? How?"

"She says it was her Fire Storm spell that did it. She feels she went too far."

Tegryn sighed and shook his head. "The silly little thing, that's complete nonsense. I mean, for a start it wasn't just her Fire Storm, Bloom helped her too. Then there was that triple sine-wave courtesy of Musie and the twins, and Anyuna's Dream Dust, and of course that was that potion that Layla gave to me - you know, the one made up by Flora and Charlotte using the ingredients that everyone help to gather using MY recipe... and none of it would've been necessary if I hadn't allowed myself to get corrupted by those three witches. If I was gonna lay blame for my fear, I'd be hating everyone here, including myself!"

"Yeah, I suppose that's one way of putting it!" Riven chuckled. "I'll have a word with her later, explain the situation."

"I think we both should, just so everything's 100 clear."

"You know, it doesn't surprise me that she's acting this way." said Musa. "She's always looked up to you, and if anyone was gonna go out of their way not to hurt you, it'd be her."

"I guess so. I've always said that she's the nearest thing I have to a sister here in Alfea."

Just then Charlotte came jogging back, clutching three hot dogs with a huge grin on her face.

"Here we go!" she said as she handed them out. "That place is so cool! They sell hot dogs with Nahri chillies on them!"

"Nahri? Your homeworld?" Tegryn asked. Charlotte nodded.

"Whoa, they do Nahri chillies?" said Riven. "They're the hottest things in the entire universe!"

"I know, that's why I didn't put any on yours." she said. "Teggy, you wanna try some?" she said, holding out a tiny spot of chilli on her little finger.

"Okay," he said, taking it and slowly putting it into his mouth. Soon he was gasping and begging for water, his face turning a brighter shade of scarlet than the ribbon in Charlotte's hair.

Charlotte giggled as she took a huge bite of her Nahri-dog - well, as huge as her tiny little mouth could manage anyway.

"Hot enough for you?"

* * *

**Vaguely interesting fact: Nahri, the name of Charlotte's homeworld (and those chillies she loves) is derived from the Arabic word for fire. Planet Nahri may make an appearance in a future fanfic.**


	5. Look Into My Eyes

Everyone laughed as Tegryn tried desperately to cool his poor tongue down - it felt like his whole mouth was about to burst into flame. Flora offered him an ice cube, which he gratefully took and put into his mouth as quickly as possible. Ahh... that did the trick. If this was a cartoon, there would've been clouds of steam pouring out of every hole in his head right now. 

Just then, Anyuna returned holding a small bag. "Having fun?"

"Yeah - well, everyone except Teggy!" said Musa, sniggering rather loudly.

"Why, what happened?" Anyuna replied, looking rather concerned at Tegryn's comically red face as she sat down next to him.

"Nothing much," he gasped, gulping yet another glass of water. "I just made the mistake of eating some of Charlotte's lunch, that's all. And I thought vindaloo curries were hot!"

"So what's in the bag?" asked Musa.

"Oh, this? Just something I've had my eye on for a while." she said, taking out a long box which she opened to reveal a beautiful silver necklace. She took it out and held it out in front of her.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" she said, staring at the dainty little pendant as it dangled in front her, swinging slightly in the soft breeze. It was oval in shape, embossed with an intricate floral design. She held it between her and Tegryn and swung it a bit faster, twirling it as it went. Tegryn noticed it and laughed.

"Careful Yuni - you don't wanna hypnotise yourself!"

Anyuna giggled and swung her necklace right in front of him. "You are feeling sleepy! You are in my power!" she said slowly, like a bad stage hypnotist.

"I am in your power," Tegryn replied playfully, doing his best to make it sound like he really was in a trance before bursting into fits of laughter. "Oh dear," he said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "That's not how you hypnotise people!"

"Oh of course, you know hypnosis, don't you? Go on, show me!"

"Hmm?"

"Show me. Hypnotise me!"

Layla smiled when she heard this - so this was Anyuna's plan... and what's more it appeared to be working.

"Hypnotise you? Hypnotise you into doing what?"

"Ummm... hypnotise me so I fall in love with someone!"

Tegryn chuckled. "I can't do that!"

"Okay then, hypnotise me so I DON'T fall in love with someone. Yeah, that's it! Hypnotise me so I don't fall in love with you!"

"I can't do that!" he replied again.

"No, go on!" Anyuna said, pointing at her face. "Do it, right in the eyes!"

"Seriously Yuni, I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"My powers aren't that strong. I can only use my powers to influence the mind, not the heart."

"Oh," said Anyuna, trying hard not to sound disappointed. "But, I thought it was possible to make people fall in and out of love using hypnosis. Didn't Darcy once do something like that?"

"Yes, but Darcy's a lot more powerful than me - she's had more practice. And besides, we all know she's a nasty piece of work - would you REALLY want me to do the kind of stuff she does?"

"No, I guess not. Ah well, it was worth a try!" she joked as she undid the clasp on her necklace. "Here, could you help with this?"

"Sure," said Tegryn as he brushed her soft black hair out of the way before bringing to two ends of the necklace together behind her slender neck and attaching them. Anyuna could feel her heart skipping a beat as he brushed her skin with his fingers - just the mere touch of him was enough to give her goosebumps.

"There we go." he said as he finished, patting her lightly on the back.

The rest of the girls gasped.

"Wow Yuni, that is beautiful - it's so you!" said Bloom, admiring her.

"You've really got some great taste." Stella added. "I must bring you shopping with me some time - we'll be the best dressed girls in Majix!"

Anyuna gazed down at the silver necklace that now hung against her chest and smiled.

"Ah look, here come Mimi and Nini." said Tegryn, looking up. Sure enough, here came the twins... but there was something odd - they wore the hoods of their tops tightly around their head.

"Ooh, that doesn't look good," said Stella. "I'm getting a hairdo disaster vibe here."

"Is everything alright?" asked Musa.

"Oh yes. You ready for the grand unveiling?" Mimi replied.

"Three... two... one... GO!" said Nini as they whipped their hoods off. Everyone gasped in awe. The twins now sported fairly short tousled haircuts which really suited them... but that wasn't what fascinated everyone. It was the fact that their normally brown hair was no longer brown - Mimi's was now a bright lime green, whilst Nini's was an equally shocking electric blue.

Everybody just stared at them, half in shock and half in admiration.

"We got bored of having to do our braids and ribbons every single morning..."

"...so we went the whole nine yards and did this. Whaddya think?"

"Guys, you look cool... totally cool." said Musa.

"It's even better than cool, whatever that is - freezing?" Tegryn added. "And the best thing is, it makes it so much easier for us to tell the two of you apart!"


	6. A Tender Moment

Later that evening, a figure sat alone at the fountain in the central courtyard of Alfea, gazing up at the thousands of stars floating in the dark ocean of the night sky, as though she was waiting for someone. Suddenly she became aware of somebody approaching. Her face brightened when Tegryn's smiling face came into view - she had always wondered if he could get any more handsome, but the moonlight seemed to highlight all his best features, bathing them in a soft white glow. 

"There you are... I've been looking all over for you."

She smiled. "Yes, I bet you have."

He stopped. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Don't you have a kiss for me?"

She giggled as she stood up. "What, you think you're going to get one just like that?"

"Why not?"

"Why not? 'Cos you're gonna have to work for it, that's why! Catch me if you can!" she said as she ran away to the other side of the fountain.

"Oh, it's like that, is it? Very well!" he said, joining in the chase. Laughing, they sprinted around and around the fountain. She looked over her shoulder to see him catching up.

"Come on! I thought you wanted to kiss me!" she shouted.

"I've almost got you!" he huffed, reaching out to grab her.

"I don't think so!" she replied as without warning she transformed into her fairy self and flew up into the sky.

"Ner ner ne ner ner! Can't catch me!" she taunted, poking her tongue out at him as she fluttered above his head.

"Oh, no fair. You know I can't fly properly! Come down here!" he pleaded.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because I may just have a little present for you!"

"Ooh, a present? I hope it's worth it!" she said as she landed and reverted to her normal self. He walked up to her and took her slender hands in his own.

"Oh, it'll be worth it all right!" he said as they walked back to the fountain and sat her down on his lap. Slowly, he put his arms around her and drew her as close to him as he could, all the time gazing deeply into her eyes. She drew her hands up over his chest and behind his neck, and gently pulled him towards her until finally his lips met her own soft pink lips, which had long been trembling with anticipation just like the rest of her. They sank slowly into a kiss that could have lasted all night, two lovers entwined, with sweet pure feelings sweeping through the two of them like a hurricane.

Every moment she spent with Tegryn had always been special, but this time was different, as though her feelings for him had reached a whole new level, soaring up to giddying heights from which she hoped she would never come down. She was in heaven - his hands caressing her felt so divine, just as he felt divine to her. Eventually, their sweet kiss ended and she stared lovingly into his eyes, which seemed to take on a different shade of blue in the moonlight. Whatever colour they were, she could look into them quite happily forever, an act of love that needed no words except for...

"I love you Tegryn." she said so softly, it sounded like a whisper on the breeze.

"I love you Anyuna..."

* * *

She woke up with a start and sat up, breathing heavily. Did she really just dream all that?

_'I love you Anyuna...'_

Those final words rang through her head like the most melodious love song ever written, spoiled only by her heart beating like a demented drum machine. Her whole body quivered as she recalled every intense moment of that experience, before eventually she broke down and began to weep softly to herself. She buried her head in her hands, which were quickly soaked by the torrents of tears that came flooding from her eyes.

"Why?" she moaned. "Why can't I stop? Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why can't I get over him?"

She walked over to her wash basin and splashed herself with cold water in a bid to calm herself down. She stared at herself in the mirror and sighed. Despite being incredibly beautiful, to her eyes she looked a total mess right now (although any guy who met her would definitely say otherwise).

"There must be some way, there must be..."

A million thoughts raced through her head as she tried hard to grasp control of the situation, until finally the answer came. There was a way, one way to get her her emotions back on the right track. There was only one person who could help her now. It'll be difficult, even dangerous, but she had no choice.

Anyuna quickly tidied herself up, transformed into her fairy self and raced out of her bedroom window. She was sick to death of the way her life was falling apart, and she was determined to put that right. There was no time to lose.


	7. Into The Darkness

Bored.

Bored bored bored.

That's how Icy, Darcy and Stormy were feeling right now. They'd been laying low ever since their latest failed attack on Alfea, biding their time, waiting for the right moment to wreak a bit of witchey havoc on those darned fairies. Of course, every good bit of havoc requires careful planning, which is something those scheming sisters naturally did well - trouble is, they had hit a major mental block, and ideas were pretty thin on the ground right now. They knew the end-of-year Prom was fast approaching, but how could they ruin it?

Stormy sighed - out of the three of them, she was getting the most impatient. "Come on, there must be something we can do to spoil their party. Cast a spell to ruin their hair? Hide some toads in the fruit punch? Make it rain inside the hall?"

"That's too little-league." Darcy sneered. "No, we have to think of something big, something that will totally ruin everything, something that will shatter their happiness. But what?"

"Well I don't have ideas for that," said Icy as she stared out of the window at something that was approaching them fast, "But I can see something that give us some entertainment in the meantime..."

That something was Anyuna. Out of desperation, she had come in a final bid to put her mind at rest - unfortunately, Shadowhaunt is the probably the worst place imaginable to do that. Shivers crept up and down her spine as she stepped warily through the dark corridors and staircases - if anything, this place had gotten even creepier since she was last here. Every ounce of common sense in her body was screaming at her that this was the mother of all bad ideas, that getting out of here would be the smartest thing she could do right now... but no. She was determined put her mind at ease and she was confident she could get help here - she held an ace up her sleeve.

"Well well well! Looks like we have a visitor!"

Startled, she turned around to see the three witches behind her, arms crossed, evil looks on their faces, striking a familiar sinister pose.

"What are you doing here little pixie?" Icy demanded.

"I came to speak to HER!" she said, pointing a finger in Darcy's direction.

Darcy looked surprised. "Me? What business do you have with me?"

"I need something doing, and you're going to do it for me."

The witches looked at each other and laughed.

"Listen to her! She thinks you're her servant!" Icy chortled.

"Ooh, better do what she says Darcy, otherwise there'll be trouble!" Stormy added, pretending to sound scared.

Darcy approached Anyuna with a wicked smile of her face. "And what makes you think I'll help you?"

Anyuna leaned forward and whispered. "I take it you don't want them knowing about how you helped us put your brother away."

Darcy looked at her again, but the smile was gone, replaced by a deadly serious look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Simple. If you don't help me, I'll tell them."

"I thought pixies kept their promises."

"It was only Mirta and Layla who made that promise to you."

Another pause.

"What's going on?" Icy asked as she began to walk forward towards them. Darcy held out her hand and motioned her back.

"So... what do you want doing?" Darcy asked.

"I want you to hypnotise me."

"Hypnotise you? To do what?"

"Hypnotise me so I'm not in love with Tegryn any more."

Darcy stepped backed and chuckled. "Really? You're in love with Tegryn?"

"Not so loud!"

"Hey girls, you'll never guess what - this pixie's in love with our dear friend Tegryn, and she wants me to hypnotise her out of love with him!"

"Ha! You're kidding?" Stormy laughed. "That's the funniest thing I've heard in ages!"

"I'm warning you!" Anyuna snapped. "I'll tell them."

"Tell us what?" Icy asked.

"She's gonna tell you about how I helped send that treacherous creep Kaiser into limbo."

Anyuna gasped. "What! They knew?"

"Yep, she told us every last detail. Who would've thought Tegryn would be a Wicca wannabe?"

Anyuna started to panic. Her hastily thought plan was falling to pieces faster than a sandcastle caught in a tidal wave.

"Why didn't you tell me they knew?" she said, turning to Darcy in desperation.

"Well, it's a laugh. isn't it? And besides, I wanted to know exactly what you were up to, coming here alone like this. And the best thing is, you've just given us a wicked idea - emphasis on the WICKED!"

The witches' evil laughter filled the castle as they closed in on poor Anyuna. 


	8. Odyssey to Anyuna

Now this was odd. 

When he fell asleep, Tegryn could've sworn he was still in his room on that nice comfy bed of his with a charming photo of his beloved by his side, but now he's woken up to find himself in a cave... and not one of those amazing tourist-attraction type caves neither, with their impressive stalagmites and stalactites creating all sorts of fantastic shapes, enhanced by subtle mood lighting.

No, this one was dark, dank and dreary. The air was cold and stale, with a strange smell hanging in the air. He must've been quite deep underground because only a tiny amount of light had filtered its way down, and what little brightness there was didn't do much to help him on his way. He stood up and put his hand out against a wall to help him - it was wet and slimy. He pulled his hand back in disgust and wiped it on his trouser leg - thankfully, whatever had brought him here had gone to the trouble of dressing him first.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing eerily down the long passage.

"Hello Tegryn - so glad you could join me!"

Tegryn tutted to himself as he guessed what was happening. "Darcy! So you've decided to invade my dreams again. Can't you take a hint? You're not welcome in here. Where are you anyway? Show yourself!"

A faint orange glow shone in front of him, revealing the dark witch.

"Did you miss me?" she said smirking as she approached him.

"Hardly. Mind you, it has been, what, six weeks? I was beginning to wonder when you'd start bugging us again."

"Bugging you? Come now Teggy, why the hostility?"

"Don't call me Teggy - only my friends can call me that."

Darcy laughed at this. "If anyone has the right to call you that, it's me! There aren't many people who are as close as we are. You can deny it all you like Teggy, but you and me, we have a connection - a magical bond."

"You gotta stop kidding yourself. That may have been true once, but that purification potion of mine did the trick - I may have some of your powers, but I don't have your darkness any more."

"We'll see." she said with a glint in her eye. "So how are things with you and that little pixie girlfriend of yours?"

"Very good, no thanks to you and your brother. But enough of the false friendliness."

"Ah yes, that's right. You're probably wondering why you're here."

"I've already guessed you didn't drag me here for a friendly chat. What do you want?"

Darcy pointed towards a recess in the cave wall, which gradually lit up to reveal a dark-haired girl slumped on the floor.

"Anyuna!" Tegryn cried out in shock. "What have you done with her you monster?"

"Now now, calm down - she's perfectly fine. She's just taking a little nap, that's all. It's been a long night for her, and she's waiting for you to come and bring her back home."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, of course. I'll even arrange the transport. All you have to do is come alone, and don't tell anyone about this."

"And what if I do?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something..." she said, holding out her hand in Anyuna's direction. Tegryn looked on in horror as it started to glow. "Care for a demonstration?"

Tegryn grabbed her hand quickly and pulled it down. "Alright, alright... I'll come."

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me." Darcy said, gently kissing him on the cheek. "Don't be long now - I'm waiting! And wear something nice, okay?"

Darcy, Anyuna and the cave faded from view, and once again Tegryn found himself in his own bed. He wiped his cheek in disgust and hurridly got dressed, before standing in the centre of the room.

"Well?" he said, tapping his foot in frustration.

Right on cue, a large swirling vortex opened up in front of him, which he quickly stepped through. He was met on the other side by Icy and Stormy, who stood there in typically intimidating fashion, arms crossed with wicked-looking smiles on their faces.

"Impatient jerk." Stormy said tersely.

"I suppose you're eager to see your little friend. She's very eager to see you!" Icy added.

"I'm warning you! If you've harmed a hair on her head..." Tegryn started, but then stopped abruptly as he looked around. "Where's Darcy?"

"Darcy? Why, she's right behind you!"

He turned around and sure enough, there she was, but as he did so he couldn't help but look into her eyes - they were glowing a deep mesmerising shade of pink. He tried desperately to look away, but it was no use - unable to tear his gaze away, he could feel himself slipping further and further into her power...

That was the last thing he could remember that night.


	9. An Unpleasant Embrace

Anyuna groaned as she woke up - she felt so uncomfortable and her body ached. It was probably something to do with the rock-hard floor she had been sleeping on.

Hang on a minute... rock hard floor?

What was she doing sleeping on a rock hard floor? How on Majix did she get here?

And then she remembered, thumping the floor in frustration as she did so. That one moment of blissful ignorance was ruined by her darned memory - she was here because of her own stupidity, her own desperation to fix things. What WAS she thinking?

Blinking, she looked around her - she was in a small dark room with a large wooden door at one end with a small square opening through which a shaft of light poured in, revealing the walls to be made of deep red stone. But there was something odd about the way the light was coming in - it seemed to be split into rectangles... it was almost as though there were bars on the door. She shook her head as she realised they were indeed bars.

"Great" she tutted to herself. "So I'm a prisoner here."

"Don't be so hard on yourself pixie," a voice said from the other side, accompanied by a loud clunking noise as the door was unlocked. "Just think of yourself as our honoured guest!"

Anyuna stood up shakily as Icy, Darcy and Stormy walked in.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"Nothing at all." Darcy replied. "In fact, a very good friend of ours is here to collect you."

"Collect me? What do you mean, collect me?"

The witches said nothing, but just stood aside as Tegryn entered. Anyuna's eyes widened in happiness at this sight. "Teggy!" she cried, running into his arms and hugging him tight, not noticing that the witches had left the room. "You came for me! Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank..."

She stopped in mid thank-you. Something was wrong.

"What did they mean, saying you were their 'very good friend'?"

"Shhh!" he replied. "It doesn't matter."

"But Teggy, we have to get out of here! They could come back at any moment." she said, trying to pull away... but Tegryn kept a tight hold of her.

"Teggy, please... what are you doing?"

Tegryn stared deep into her frightened eyes - his eyes had an unusually cold tinge to them. "Come now Yuni, don't say this isn't what you wanted."

"Come on, this isn't funny... let me go!" she pleaded, straining to get away.

"Oh give it up baby. You've dreamed of this moment for ages, haven't you? You've always wanted me to do THIS!" he said as he kissed her forcefully.

"No!" she said squirming to break the kiss, trying to push his head away. "Stop it Teggy! Let go!"

"No way!"

"I said LET GO!" she yelled before, quite without thinking in her blind panic, putting her hands over his eyes and shouting "AURA FLASH!"

Tegryn growled in pain and staggered away, his hands over his face, totally blinded by the intensity of Anyuna's light spell. She stood away, her back to the wall, tears welling up in her eyes as she watched him wincing. Is this really happening? How could he do this to her? How could she have been so wrong about him? Is he really in league with those three witches? And most importantly - what will Musa say when she hears about this?

Just then a portal opened up next to her - a gateway out of here that she was only too glad to take. To her great relief, it transported her directly to her room.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Shadowhaunt, the three witches walked back into the room, with Tegryn stumbling around, still blinded. Darcy clicked her fingers and he fell to the floor, fast asleep, before being whisked away by a vortex conjured up by Icy. The three sisters laughed amongst themselves as he disappeared from view.

"Did you catch all that?" Stormy asked.

"Oh yes," Darcy replied, gleefully patting a small video camera. "Every last second of it!" she gloated as she waved her hand over it. "And now the pièce de résistance!"

"The pièce de résistance? And what might that be?"

"A little something I call a Cry Wolf hex - whoever watches this video will instantly believe that Tegryn is guilty. This coupled with the fact that I've totally erased his memory of this little bit of fun means that nobody will believe him, no matter how hard he protests his innocence!"

Icy chuckled evilly.

"Ladies, I do believe we've surpassed ourselves in pure nastiness!" 


	10. Framed…

The day had started out pretty normally for Musa. It was early morning and after eating a nice sensible breakfast, she was busy prettying herself for her usual weekday rendezvous with her main man - after all, someone has to make sure he gets to his lessons on time. But just as she was putting on the last squirt of her favourite perfume, there was a knock on the door - it was Tecna. 

"Hey Tec, what's up?" she said cheerfully.

"Musa... I think you really need to see this." came her less than cheerful reply. Judging by the gravely serious look on the faces of Tecna and the other Winx girls who were all stood behind her, Musa quickly cottoned on that something really was up.

"I'm picking up a serious negative vibe here guys. What's going on?"

Tecna held up a small video cube. "This was delivered earlier - and you're not going to like it."

"Why? What's on it?"

Tecna activated the video cube, projecting a holographic image above it - it showed Anyuna in the cell with the witches walking in. Musa gasped in shock at the sight of her friend in trouble.

"This is terrible! We have to go save her!"

"Keep watching."

_"What are you going to do with me?"_

_"Nothing at all - in fact a very good friend of ours is coming to collect you."_

Musa looked on aghast at what she saw next.

"Teggy? What's Teggy doing there? And what did they mean 'a very good friend'? Since when was Teggy their friend? This doesn't make sense."

Her shock turned to sheer horror at those terrible events unfolded in front of her.

_"No! Stop it Teggy! Let go!"_

Musa sat down on her bed, totally and utterly stunned by what she just saw.

"When did this happen?"

"Sometime last night."

"But... I don't understand. How... why... I mean, we were all out shopping and having a laugh... everyone was so happy... how could this happen? This can't be for real... yes, that's it! That video's a fake, it must be!"

Tecna shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not. I've analysed it over and over again - the pictures haven't been altered or tampered with in any way... it's genuine. Musa, I'm so sorry."

"But... why would he do this? I don't understand..." Musa stammered, bewildered. She wanted so hard to believe that what she had just saw could never have really happened, that it was just a figment of her imagination, a bad dream - but reality bites, and bites hard. Tears started welling up in her eyes as Anyuna's pleas rang out over and over again in her head... _"No! Stop it Teggy! Let go!"_

"Anyuna! We have to check on her, make sure she's okay! Come on."

They raced the short distance over to Anyuna's room - her door was open slightly. "Yuni? It's me, Musa... come we come in?"

Layla replied form inside. "Yes, come in guys, and shut to the door behind you."

They walked in to find Anyuna sat on her bed being comforted by Layla and the Starz. Crumpled up tissues lay scattered around the floor, and a photo frame lay cracked and face down in a corner. Bloom went over and picked it up - it was a photo of Anyuna, Tegryn and the Starz all hugging and laughing together, a memory of happier times. Musa looked over at Anyuna - her hair was messed up and unbrushed, there were faint dark rings under her eyes, which were tinged with pink and still watery - she had obviously spent the best part of the last night crying and alone, with precious little sleep. She stood up and slowly walked towards Musa.

"Musa... I'm so sorry." she sobbed.

"Oh, come here. You've done nothing wrong, it's not your fault." she said as they hugged each other tight and burst into tears together, two sisters in as much as both their worlds were falling apart, both had been betrayed, and as they saw it, their anguish was caused by the same person. Musa gave Anyuna a final hug and started walking back towards the door.

"Just hang out here and chill, okay? I'll be back soon."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"To get some answers..."


	11. …Dumped…

Tegryn's alarm clock was ringing, just as it had been for almost an hour, but he had taken no notice of it. Not by choice though - his sleep induced by Darcy's hypnotism had been far too deep for him to notice, but finally his slumber was interrupted by the sun shining brightly through the window and straight into his face, together with a loud banging at his door. He sat up straight and was greeted by an unfamiliar sight - the bedroom wall. He rolled over and tried to get out of bed, but ended up kicking his bedside table instead.

How odd. Had someone come in and turned the room around while he was asleep? Obviously not - the witches had unceremoniously dumped him upside on his bed, not that he could remember any of it.

He picked his clock up off the floor, switched the alarm off and looked at the time.

"What? 8:50?" he groaned, then gasped as he stood up. "I'm gonna be late! I gotta get dressed... hang on a minute..." he said, patting his body and looking down at himself, "I am dressed! Now why on Majix would I be sleeping in my clothes? I went to bed in my pyjamas, I always do. Oh well, at least it saves me a bit of time. I just hope I can find..."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Huh? Now who would be knocking on the door like that at this time?"

He sleepily walked over and opened it to be greeted by Musa, Bloom and Stella, all sporting faces like thunder.

"Hey babe, sorry I'm..."

"Don't 'babe' me! Just what did you think you were playing at?"

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"No I don't. What ARE you talking about?"

"Oh don't play innocent with me. We've all seen the video."

"What video?"

"The video showing you kissing Anyuna!"

"WHAT? Me kissing Yuni?"

"Yes, YOU kissing Yuni!"

"But I didn't..."

"Don't lie to me! I saw you, forcing yourself on her like that! What kind of slime are you?"

"Now wait just a minute! I did no such thing! I was here the whole time... honestly I was!"

"Do you really expect us to believe that? We have everything on video! We have all the proof we need, and what's more, poor Anyuna is totally wrecked by what you did. She's been up all night crying her eyes out."

Tegryn started to panic - he had no idea what was going on, and whatever it was was getting worse by the second.

"I have to see her. I have to talk to her. I have to get this straightened out."

"No way!" Stella snapped, pointing her sceptre straight at his chest. "You're going nowhere near her!"

"You're going nowhere near any of us." Bloom added.

"And that goes double for me!" Musa finished angrily. Tegryn looked at her in shock.

"Wha... what are you saying?"

"I'm saying... you and me... we're through!"

"But... Musa, please, let me explain!"

"No! I don't want to speak to you, or see you ever again! We're finished! You get it? FINISHED!" Musa shouted, her voice ready to break at any time. "How could I have been so dumb? I thought you were better than that. I really thought you were the one, my soulmate... but that was just a big lie, wasn't it? I thought... I thought you loved me." she said before bursting into yet more tears. "I HATE YOU!" She walked away, comforted by Bloom and Stella.

"Please, Musa..."

"You stay away from her, you creep!" Stella yelled. "You hear me? STAY AWAY!"

Tegryn watched on sadly as the three of them walked down the corridor and out of view. His entire body felt numb, as though a huge part of his soul had been ripped out there and then by some spiteful little demon. Slowly, he shuffled back into his room and slumped down onto the bed, his hand in his hands.

"What's going on?" he muttered to himself, but before he could answer that question, he became aware of someone standing in front of him. He looked up to see Charlotte looking down at him with sad, baleful eyes.

"Teggy," she said quietly. "Please tell me you didn't do that to Yuni."

Tegryn looked her square in her hazel eyes.

"I didn't do it. Please, you have to believe me."

Charlotte paused, before slowly turning and walking away.

"I want to believe you, but... that video..." she mumbled sadly as she closed the door behind her.

Tegryn walked over to his bedside table and picked up the photo of him and Musa together. He couldn't believe it - him and Musa... finished? And all his friends turning against him like that, and all because of a video.

"That video." he said angrily under his breath. "That darned video! What is it about this video that's got Musa so steamed at me? And just what is it I'm supposed to have done to Anyuna anyway? Argh! Things just can't get any worse!"

His ranting was interrupted by an angry-sounding knock on the door - he was wrong... things were just about to get worse. 


	12. …and Expelled

Tegryn warily opened the door to be greeted by a less than welcome sight - Griselda looking even angrier than usual.

_'Oh great, this is the last thing I need.'_ he thought to himself. _'I'd better try and defuse this before she blows up.'_

"Good morni..."

"Be quiet!" she snapped. "The principal wants a word with you immediately!"

Tegryn gulped. He knew what was coming - obviously Faragonda and Griselda have been informed of what he supposedly did to Anyuna, whatever that was, and now it was their turn to haul him over the coals. Quietly, he followed Griselda down the corridor, and as he did so, he became all too aware of the stares of everyone they passed, with the odd whisper here and there...

_i"Look, there he is."_

"Did you hear what he did?"

"I can't believe it - it's horrible."

"I hope they kick him out!"

Tegryn sighed - it looks as though everyone has already decided he's guilty. Whoever cooked up this malicious plan (and he had a pretty good idea who) had done an excellent job of turning everyone against him, wrecking his life and destroying his reputation. As far as he was concerned, they couldn't get to Faragonda's office quick enough. After what seemed like an eternity, they soon arrived.

"Sit down Mr Devanallt." Faragonda said sternly. He did as he was told, sitting on a chair at Ms Faragonda's desk opposite the principal, with Griselda standing guard over him. "I take it you know why you're here."

"Yes, but I didn't do it."

"Tegryn, are you aware that your... misdeeds were caught on camera?"

"I've heard about it, yes, but I swear I was here the whole time. I didn't do whatever it was I'm supposed to have done to Yuni. She's my friend, I would never hurt her."

"And yet you did, and in the most despicable way possible."

"I'm telling you, I didn't do it. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

"Because we have proof."

"It must be fake."

"No, it's genuine - we've had it checked. We also have a damning testimony from Anyuna - she's 100 positive it was you. I can't see how you can sit there and deny this..."

"I deny it because I didn't do it! Why isn't anyone listening to me? Nobody's even given me a chance to defend myself."

"So go on then - defend yourself. What did you do last night?"

"I was sleeping the whole time."

"And what do you remember?"

"Nothing. I... remember nothing."

Faragonda peered at the crumpled shirt and trousers Tegryn was wearing.

"Would it shock you to learn that those are the exact same clothes that you wore when you attacked Anyuna?"

"What! That's rubbish!"

"And I suppose you don't remember putting them on?"

"That's... that's right, I don't. That's the weird thing - when I woke up this morning, as was already wearing them. But you gotta believe me, I don't remember how I came to be wearing them."

"And you seriously expect me to believe this? Please Tegryn, don't insult my intelligence."

Tegryn stood up and thumped the desk in exasperation. "There's just no talking to you people, is there! For the last time - I DIDN'T DO IT!"

Griselda placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down into his seat. "That's enough Tegryn! Now sit down and show the principal some respect."

"Thank you Ms Griselda." Faragonda said as she turned back towards Tegryn. "And as for you Tegryn, I'm sure you're aware this is a VERY serious matter, very serious indeed. First of all, there's the small matter of your association with Icy, Darcy and Stormy..."

"My association? I have no 'association' with them whatsoever."

"I beg to differ. From what we've seen, you are clearly in league with them, and then there's your actions of last night. Now, when you first applied for a place here, quite a few of the teachers had serious reservations about admitting you to this school but I finally managed to convince them, saying that you could be trusted to be on your best behaviour and act appropriately at all times. Sadly, it appears my faith in you was badly misplaced. This attack on your own classmate is totally inexcusable..."

"I didn't do it!"

"It is totally inexcusable, and you are clearly a danger to her and the other pupils here. Therefore, I am removing your powers indefinitely."

"What! You can't do that!"

"Oh yes I can. Powerus Removus!" Faragonda held out her hands, and Tegryn was suddenly enveloped by a green and yellow aura which lifted him off the ground. He gasped as he floated helplessly, unable to move or escape. Presently he was lowered back down into his seat. He looked at his hands - to his surprise he didn't feel any different.

"So is that it?"

"No. Because of your actions, we feel there is no way you can continue to study here."

"What! Hang on a minute - are you saying...?"

"Yes Tegryn - you are hereby expelled from Alfea. You have one hour to go back to your room and pack your belongings, after which time you will be removed from campus.

Tegryn looked at her, his breath quivering.

"Expelled?" 


	13. Farewell to Alfea

So this was it.

This was really it.

As much as he didn't want believe it, he had to accept it... this was it.

His time at Alfea, the education in his new-found magical powers, his whirlwind romance with Musa... all over. And the worst thing, they're all over through no fault of his own.

Sadly, he stuffed his clothes into his trusty rucksack, letting out a heavy sigh as he did so. He never thought he'd need to use this again for a very long time. For the first time in his life, he had been happy and settled... but it's all over now. Not for the first time, the fates had conspired against him, cruelly allowing him to feel secure and contented before wrenching his happiness away from him.

He looked around him. Everything was packed, except for one item - the photo. He picked it up and looked at it, and sighed.

_"I thought you loved me."_ - those were Musa's last ever words to him - _"I thought you loved me."_

"But, I still do." he murmured. "But what can I do now? We've been driven apart, and once I leave here there's no way I can return. We really are finished."

And what about poor Polli? He never had the chance to say goodbye. He felt sickened by the thought of leaving her like this - they had such a strong bond, and he had no way of telling how she'll take it. Will she even understand what's happening? If only she was here right now - everyone would be able to see he was telling the truth and his name would be cleared instantly. But no, another cruel twist of fate had denied that luxury to him, and so he must leave with his good name stained forever, at least in this realm.

Despondently, he turned the photo onto its face and placed it back on the table. There's no point in taking this with him - what's the use? What's he meant to do - spends hours on end staring forlornly at it, hoping against hope that a miracle will happen and Musa will come racing back into his arms? That'll never happen, and it'd be foolish to waste time thinking that it ever will - that'd be a sure-fire way of moping himself into an early grave.

He was interrupted by Faragonda and Griselda entering the room.

"It's time. I assume you'll want to be sent straight home?"

Tegryn nodded miserably, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. Faragonda nodded and opened a portal behind him. Giving them one last sad look, he walked dejectedly through it, his head hung low. As he did so, Griselda sighed and shook her head, and Faragonda noticed this.

"I agree Ms Griselda, it is sad that we had to do this."

"No, it's not that. It's just that... do you think we've done the right thing? I get the nasty feeling we may have acted too hastily..."

Tegryn soon found himself back in familiar surroundings - the forest path leading into An-Chuan. The sound of children's laughter filled the air, and got ever louder as he approached the village. Laughter... now there's something he knew he won't be doing for a long time. As he walked through the village gates, he could see his dear sister Mei, Pui Yin and a couple of other girls leading Sien Ko and her classmates on a school outing. Mei broke into a huge grin when she saw him.

"Brother!" she cried as she raced towards him happily, but that joy quickly turned to concern when she saw the heartbroken look on his face. "Brother? What is it?"

Tegryn said nothing. Seeing how distressed he was, Mei ran up and hugged him, trying to comfort him as best she could.

"What's happened?"

"Ruined... everything's ruined." he said as he wept into her shoulder. Pui Yin walked up to him and put her arm around him. She couldn't help noticing that he wasn't with Musa, and she easily guessed why. Normally this would make her happy, but right now the only thing she was concerned about was that her Tegryn was hurt, and hurt bad.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "No matter what's happened, you've got us - we'll take care of you."

Tegryn raised his head and looked at her - she looked back at him with those dark eyes of hers.

"Thank you," he said, taking his arms from around Mei and putting them around her. Pui Yin was only too happy to return the favour, giving him the most comforting hug she possibly could.

"It's going to be alright Tegryn - just you see, it's going be alright."

Sien Ko, being the sweet little thing that she is, decided to follow suit, cuddling his leg for all she was worth.

"Uncle Teggy? Where Riven?"

Mei knelt down beside her and whispered "I don't think Riven's coming."

"Why he not come?"

"I don't know, dear. Maybe we'll know later."

Tegryn looked down at Sien Ko and smiled the best he could, before picking her up and cuddling her.

"Aww. Tegryn sad." she said as she wiped a tear from his face. "Sien Ko make happy, yes?"

Pui Yin smiled at this touching sight. "What do you think happened?" she whispered to Mei.

"I don't know what's happened, but one thing's for sure - no-one hurts my brother like that and gets away with it." 


	14. Pretty Smart Polli

One day later, and the good people of Alfea were trying to get to grips with the terrible events of two nights ago. Faragonda was sat on a bench in the courtyard with Anyuna, her counselling skills being put to the test as she tried to reassure the young fairy that things were going to be alright.

Musa was sat in classroom, twiddling her hair as she tried her best to concentrate on her schoolwork, with not much success - not surprisingly, her mind was elsewhere.

How could Tegryn do that to her? How long did he have that crush on Anyuna? Why would he fall for Anyuna anyway? Sure, she's beautiful, but surely that's not it. All those times he told Musa she was beautiful - did he really mean it? Or was he just humouring her while he set his sights on another girl? Did she do something wrong? Did she hurt his feelings somehow, or not given him enough attention? She thought he was so happy with her, but obviously he wasn't. She heaved a quiet, sad sigh - she felt so worthless right now.

The main thing is, she didn't want to see him again, and thankfully she hadn't seen him since the previous morning. In fact, nobody had. She guessed he was locked away in his room, too ashamed to show his face - either that or he'd gone over to Shadowhaunt to shack up with his new friends. Urgh! She felt sick just thinking about it.

She needed comforting right now. Sure, the other Winx girls had done a grand job of easing her pain, but at this very moment, she needed Tune. In the past, whenever she needed a little shoulder to cry on or some good advice, Tune was the one she could turn to every time. Thank goodness they were all coming back from the Pixie Festival today.

Thinking of Tune reminded her of someone else... Polli. Poor little Polli, yet another innocent whose life is going to be ruined. What's going to happen? Will she stay loyal to her bonded companion despite all this, or will their bond be shattered? After all, the one and only thing she hates in this world is lies, and right now there's no bigger liar than Tegryn.

After lunch (which for Musa wasn't very much - she just didn't feel like eating today), the girls gathered in the main hall ready to welcome their tiny friends home, and they arrived right on cue. Musa ran up and hugged Tune.

"Thank goodness you're here! I really need to talk."

"Yes, I've missed you too, but would you mind awfully if I got changed first? This green two-piece outfit is so unrefined - no offence Chatta."

"None taken!" Chatta replied, looking rather splendid in her short pink dress and matching pink wig.

In all the hubbub, Polli, who was clinging on to Discorda's hand, was getting more and more worried.

"Where's Tegryn?" Discorda asked.

"We don't know, and to be honest we couldn't care less." Layla replied whilst trying to comfort Piff, who was getting rather flustered because her Concorda-style spectacles kept falling off the end of her nose.

The pixies stopped and stared at this outburst.

"Excuse me? Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Discorda demanded.

"Sure, come with us."

And so they all trooped into Tecna's room and took out the video cube, which Tenca activated. The pixies looked on, totally shocked by what they saw.

"That's horrible!" said Lockette, trying her best not to cry.

"That's disgusting!" Tune added.

"That's..."

"Eeep! Eeep! Eeeeeeep!"

They all stopped and looked at Polli, who was sat there, pointing at the images and making a lot of noise.

"Polli? Is there something wrong?" Flora asked. "What is it? Please tell us."

Polli looked around, getting very anxious - indeed she had something to say... but to who? The only person she had ever spoken to in her entire life was Tegryn, and he wasn't here - what was she going to do? She looked around frantically, her eyes ready to brim over with tears, when without warning she jumped onto Musa's shoulder and started whispering into her ear. Musa listened intently, a look of shock and horror slowly creeping onto her face.

"Oh no," she said quietly, her hands over her mouth. "Guys... I think we've made a huge mistake." 


	15. Desperately Seeking Teggy

bu15 - Desperately Seeking Teggy/b/u 

"A mistake? Why? What is it?" asked Flora.

"It's Teggy."

"What about him?"

"According to Polli, he was hypnotised."

"WHAT!" everyone in the room seemed to say in unison.

"Are you sure?" Bloom asked.

"Yes," Musa nodded. "Hypnotised."

A brief silence fell upon the room as the group of friends took in this revelation, and as the truth sank in, the evil spell that had corrupted them began to lift as it no longer had a hold on them. Tecna tutted to herself, annoyed that she was fooled so easily, and she knew everyone else felt the same way.

"Well, that would explain this out-of-character behaviour, not to mention why he said he couldn't remember any of this." she said. "But why we didn't realise this before? How come we didn't spot it until now? That doesn't make sense."

Musa listened as Polli started whispering again.

"There's more... Polli says that video isn't entirely true... it has some sort of hex on it."

Tecna scanned the cube once more, this time looking for any magical influences. Sure enough, the predicted results flashed up on her computer - POSITIVE.

"Amazing." said Bloom. "How did she know that?"

"I guess there's more to truth pixies than just telling whether someone is telling a lie or not." Tecna explained. "It seems Polli can spot anything that isn't 100 genuine - in this case the false influence which was cast upon Tegryn, and the false influence projected onto us by the hex cast on this video."

Discorda patted the baby pixie on the head. "Well done Polli, Tegryn will be proud of you!"

"Teggy!" Musa gasped as she stood up and started running out of the door. "I have to see Teggy! I owe him a major apology."

"I think we all do, especially me and Stella." said Bloom as the other girls followed her.

"Er, Bloom? Do you really think he's going to forgive us after what we said to him?" Stella asked - she was feeling especially guilty after her unusual show of nastiness.

"I'm sure he will if we just calmly explain what's happened." Bloom replied. "After all, he's a reasonable guy, right?"

* * *

They soon arrived at his room, and Musa started knocking on his door. 

"Teggy? Are you there? Please? I need to talk to you."

No answer.

"Teggy, please? I need to talk. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I said. I'm sorry for saying we're finished. Please, open the door!"

Still no answer. Musa was getting frantic as she banged on the door louder and louder.

"Teggy! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Please forgive me! I'm sorry."

Again, no answer. Bloom tried the handle - the door was unlocked, and they slowly walked in. The room was entirely empty except for one thing - the photo of Tegryn and Musa together. Musa walked over and picked it up, and softly wept as she looked upon it, running her fingers over Tegryn's face.

"He's gone..."

Layla put a comforting arm around her to try and ease her felings of sorrow and guilt.

"There, there. It'll be alright. It'll be okay as soon as we find him."

Just then, they were interrupted by a stern voice at the door.

"What's the meaning of all this racket?"

They turned around to see Faragonda and Griselda standing there.

"May I ask you girls what you're doing in here?" Faragonda asked.

"We have to find Teggy! It's urgent."

"And why might that be?"

"We were wrong about him." Stella tried to explain. "He didn't really hurt Anyuna like that... well, he did, but he didn't... well, the thing is..."

"Start again Stella, and tell me - what are you talking about?"

"Tegryn was hypnotised!"

"Yeah, and no prizes for guessing by who." Bloom added.

A short silence filled the room as Faragonda and Griselda took in what they had just heard.

"Hypnotised?" Faragonda said eventually with a heavy sigh. "It appears you were right Ms Griselda - we were indeed too hasty with our actions."

"What actions? What are you talking about?" Musa asked.

"I'm sure you can appreciate that given the seriousness of the situation, I had no option but to expel Tegryn."

"You expelled him? No, no, no! This is terrible! Where is he now?"

"We sent him home."

"To An-Chuan? Then that's where we're going!"

"I don't think so young lady." Griselda replied. "You have lessons starting in less than ten minutes."

"I don't care. I have to find him. I have to tell him I'm sorry. I have to persuade him to come back."

"Ms Griselda's right, lessons do start soon, and neither I nor Ms Griselda will have you missing them." said Faragonda. "However, I can see attending them won't do Musa much good right now. I will accompany her to Earth to try and find Tegryn, the rest of you shall attend your lessons as normal. Now off you go!"

The other girls came forward and gave Musa a big group hug.

"Good luck Musa." said Stella. "And, erm... tell him I'm sorry for calling him a creep, okay?"


	16. An Old Flame Relit

Tegryn sighed, as he gazed down at the large goldfishes and koi carp swimming around in the village pond. He had been sat here for a couple of hours now, alone, with just his thoughts to keep him company, and those thoughts were dominated by one person - Musa. 

He was completely shell-shocked. He still couldn't understand what had happened. What went wrong? The day before yesterday everyone was happy, laughing and joking in the park, all friends together making the most of another beautiful day in Majix. But in the space of just one hour that very night, all of that had fallen apart. His relationship with Musa was over, he had been expelled, and everyone in Alfea thought he was the slimiest piece of scum ever to slither out from under a rock... and why? Some video supposedly showing him kissing one of his best friends, an act of which he had no memory.

"Hi Tegryn... may I join you?"

He looked up to see Pui Yin, dressed in a stunning knee-length floral print dress made out of the finest gold-coloured silk, finished off with two small red carnations in her hair, a trademark which she had always been rather fond of. Ever since learning about what had happened the day before, Pui Yin had been caught in two minds about how she should handle this. She still loved Tegryn very much, and so naturally she hated seeing him so sad. But before these sad feelings had the chance to take over, it occurred to her that in truth this situation was a godsend for her - she no longer needed to make any plans to split him and Musa up because the hard work had already been done for her. All she had to do now was to rekindle their old romance, and the best way to do that was to remind him why he loved her before, to show him how much she cared for him.

Of course, the extremely beautiful and flattering dress she wore will help things along a bit rather nicely. Its figure-hugging design showed off all of her best assets, and the colour and floral motif matched her hair and large dark eyes perfectly. This together with the flowers in her hair and a delicate floral perfume combined to make one gorgeous result. To tell the truth though, she was so naturally beautiful, she'd look glamorous in a potato sack.

Tegryn nodded quietly to her, continuing his watch on the fish as she sat down on the bench beside him.

"So... what are you doing?" she asked.

"Thinking about how much I envy those fish."

"Envy those fish? Why?"

"They have it so simple, just swimming around, no hang-ups, no-one plotting against them. All they have to worry about is when they get fed... well, that and whether the stork over in that tree is going to try and make a lunch out of them."

Pui Yin giggled - even in these difficult times, Tegryn still made her laugh.

"Yeah, maybe. But they never feel happiness, or love, or friendship, do they?"

Tegryn looked at her. "I guess not."

"Exactly." she said, gently taking his hand in her own. "I think we're the lucky ones Tegryn because no matter how bad things look, we still have all those things - it's just sometimes they'll be slightly harder to see. Just remember that. You have your family and your friend here, and you'll always have me to count on too. I'll always be there for you."

He smiled warmly. "You're right. Thank you." he said, giving her a thank-you hug. As they held each other, Pui Yin closed her eyes and enjoyed this warm embrace.

This was her chance.

Gently, she moved her head so that her cheek was touching against his, letting him feel the warm softness of her skin, before slowly drawing her head back until she was facing him, gazing into his eyes, her lips barely half an inch apart from his. For a while she stayed like this, feeling her heart beat ever harder, feeling the electricity building up between them until she could take it no more. Bit by bit, little by little, she moved closer. Without realising it, he did the same, his vulnerable soul yearning to find some comfort, until eventually they met. She pressed her lips softly against his, taking his bottom lip slowly and tenderly between her own.

Tegryn's soul was aflame. He had forgotten just how special the two of them felt together, and for a brief second he allowed himself to continue the sweet kiss... but without warning he opened his eyes and stood up.

"I'm sorry Pui Yin," he said, his voice shaking, "But I can't do this. It's too soon."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's just... I need some time alone... I have a lot of thinking to do."

And with that he walked slowly into the woods, leaving Pui Yin sat there, watching him disappear into the trees.

_'Was it too soon for that?'_ she wondered, before casting her mind back to that kiss. For a few brief seconds, they were two lovers together, just like old times. It happened and she was sure it would happen again - just give him some time to get his head together and he'll be back in her arms. She smiled a huge smile of satisfaction and leant back in her seat.

"At last, he's mine again."


	17. The Big Question

Tegryn trudged through the forest with a million thoughts racing through his head at once. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any more complicated, Pui Yin had to throw a spanner into his already messed up works. Admittedly it was a rather nice spanner, and that encounter by the pond had reminded just how caring and affectionate she could be, not to mention exceedingly attractive. He recalled the time before he left An-Chuan when he and Pui Yin were dating, how blissful things were back then, how joyful and carefree their time together was. 

But that was before Musa came into his life, like an angel from above rescuing him from three dark demons. The love he felt for her was a lot deeper than he had ever felt for Pui Yin. They spent every possible waking moment together, laughing, joking... and loving each other. Things were so perfect with her, just holding her hand was enough to brighten his day, and when they kissed it felt like a thousand celebrations rolled into one. Musa was more than just a girlfriend, she was truly his soulmate.

But that was over now.

A huge chunk of his life had been ripped away from him, leaving a big, ugly hole, one that had to be filled if he was to climb out of this despair - but how? Should he allow the fires of love between him and Pui Yin to be relit, or should he hold on in the vain hope that Musa will see sense and come back to him, even though she hurt him badly with her accusations and her refusal to listen?

Who did he really love? That was the Big Question.

Frustrated, he kicked a stone, which landed in a nearby bush with a soft rustle.

"Oh man, what do I do now?"

His question was answered by an unwelcome reply.

"You could always try running... not that it would do you much good!"

He shuddered and turned around... he'd recognise that voice anywhere. Sure enough, there were Icy, Darcy and Stormy standing before him, all looking rather pleased with themselves.

"What are you three doing here?" he asked coldly. "You're the last thing I need right now."

"Well well Darcy!" said Icy. "It looks like your plan to ruin his life has worked better than we could ever have hoped for!"

"Your PLAN? You mean YOU were behind all this?"

"Oh yes." Darcy replied. "Hypnotising you into forcing yourself on poor little Anyuna like that, getting the whole thing on video, and putting that hex on it to make sure nobody believes you... all my work, and what a masterpiece it was too!"

"Why you!" Tegryn growled as he started to approach her, hatred and anger building up inside him. "You've ruined my life, and for what?"

"Fun." came her nonchalant reply. "We did it because we wanted to."

That was more than he could take. He marched up towards her, fists clenched, ready to explode. "GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T RIP YOUR HEAD OFF HERE AND NOW!" he bellowed.

"Because you've lost your powers."

He stopped dead in his tracks - how on Earth did she know about that?

"Oh yes," Darcy continued. "We know all about your punishment. News travels fast, especially when you have eyes everywhere. That fool Faragonda has really excelled herself this time, taking away your powers like that."

"It was rather nice of her to do us such a big favour." Stormy added. "It'll make pounding you into the ground much easier, not to mention more entertaining!"

Tegryn started to panic and backed away - the look in the three witches' eyes confirmed their murderous intent. He was in big trouble, outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. Frantically, he looked around, searching in vain for something he could use as a weapon.

A weapon?

Here?

What was he thinking? What's he going to do - beat the three most powerful witches in the universe with a stick? He quickly realised brute force won't do him any good here at all. No, he had to play this smart... but how? He looked around him again... a forest clearing with a high cliff on one side. His spirit lifted slightly as he remembered - this was where he used to practice evasion techniques with Mei. Being in familiar surroundings could be a great help here. He turned and smiled at the Trix.

"You really think I'm just gonna stand here and let you go to town on me?"

"That was the general idea, yes."

"Yeah? Well let me tell you now, it ain't gonna happen. You want payback? You'll have to work for it!"

With that, he span around and sprinted into the thickest part of the forest.

"The fool, as if running into the woods is going to make any difference." Icy gloated.

"Does he really think these trees'll slow us down at all?" Stormy added, unleashing a huge lightning bolt at the nearest tree, sending it crashing to the ground with a loud crack.

"Come on girls." Darcy said as she led the way, taking out a few trees for good measure. "The hunt is on!"


	18. Unwelcome Visitors

Back on the path outside An-Chuan, Faragonda and Musa walked into the busy village square, full of locals going about their business.

"Do you see him? He's gotta be around here somewhere." Musa said.

"Somehow I don't think he's going to be shopping for groceries today. Our best bet would be his house - he looked pretty upset when he left, and I'd imagine he wouldn't up to socialising just yet."

Musa nodded in agreement, and they hurriedly walked over to the cottage. As they approached it, they saw Mei walking towards them, whose face quickly darkened when she saw them. Musa started to run up towards her.

"Mei! Thank goodness we found you, we need to find Teg..." but before she could finish her sentence, Mei had drawn a sword from a sheath on her back and was pointing it at Musa's throat before she had time to react.

"You're not welcome here, not after what you did to my brother. GET OUT!" she snarled.

"Please, Mei. I know what we did was wrong. That's why I need to find Teggy. I need to tell him... I'm sorry." At this point, Musa started to cry, her tears splashing and running down the length of Mei's blade. "Mei, I still love him."

Mei's expression softened slightly at this show of affection for her brother.

"How do I know you won't hurt him again?"

"Mei, I never wanted to hurt him in the first place. We were all under some sort of spell to turn us against him."

"She's right," Faragonda explained. "It was a powerful spell that even had me fooled. We have all wronged your brother, and that's why we need to find him so we can clarify this situation."

"A spell? To turn everyone against him? But why would anyone do that? I don't understand."

"There's a lot of evildoers everywhere, and the three who did this are some of the worst going, if not THE worst. And as for WHY they did this - chances are they did it just for the hell of it. After all, they're the sort who enjoy spreading wickedness and misery whenever and wherever they can. I can't think of any other explanation. Now please, can you take us to Tegryn?"

Mei thought for a moment. "Very well... but you'd better not try anything," she said as she lowered her sword. "I saw him last over by the village pond. Come on, I'll take you there."

Musa breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Mei. I can understand why you'd want to protect your brother. Hey, if I was in the same sitch, I'd do the same."

They soon arrived at the pond, but instead of Tegryn sitting there, they saw Pui Yin looking rather happy, accompanied by Sien Ko who was having fun feeding the fishes. Upon seeing Musa, Pui Yin stood up and addressed her angrily.

"What are YOU doing here?"

"I'm here to see Teggy. Have you see him?"

"Pah! What makes you think he'll want to see you after what you did to him?" Pui Yin sneered. "If I was him, I'd hate your guts forever! And you know what? He probably does!"

Meanwhile Sien Ko had skipped up to Faragonda with a big smile on her face.

"Hewwo nice lady!" she said.

"Hello my dear." Faragonda chuckled. "And what's your name?"

"I Sien Ko. Sien Ko like your hair. Can I touch it?"

The principal laughed and picked her up. "Oh, go on then!"

Meanwhile, Mei looked around desperately. "Where's my brother? Pui... where is he?"

Pui Yin pointed towards the forest. "He's gone for a walk."

"In the forest? On his own? Are you crazy!"

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

Mei shook her head and groaned. "Pui, You know he has a bad sense of direction. He'll get lost again before we know it - it could be years before we see him again!"

Pui Yin gasped - she'd been so caught up in the ecstasy of that kiss, she'd totally forgotten... but before she could apologise, a loud crash rang out from deep within the forest.

"That came from in there!" said Musa, pointing, "And it didn't sound good! Come on!" 


	19. Can't See Teggy For The Trees

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Darcy yelled. "You can't hide forever!" 

"I don't need to. I can take you out whenever I want!" Tegryn yelled back from somewhere in the surrounding trees.

Icy chuckled. "I don't think she was asking you for a date, pixie-boy!"

"What makes you think you can beat us anyway?" Stormy shouted. "You've got no powers, remember?"

"I don't need magical powers to beat you - you wanna know why? 'Cos you're on MY home ground. You're on my turf, and when you play on my turf, you play by my rules!"

"I think his heartbreak has made him go loopy!" Darcy said to the others as they walked deeper into the forest. "He's mad if he truly thinks he can beat us."

Tegryn looked on from high up in a tree, almost directly above their heads, smiling as they walked underneath. To his mind, he wasn't bluffing when he said he could beat them. It would be extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous - if he put just one foot wrong, he'd be a gonner. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Trouble is, he knew wouldn't be able to just walk up to them and do his thing.

No, he'll have to pick them off one by one. All he had to do first was to get in behind them, but he knew that the moment he moved from his hiding place, he could be spotted - therefore, he needed a distraction, and he had just the thing.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stone that he'd picked up at the beginning of this chase. As quietly as he could, he hurled the stone over towards a nearby cliff, smiling as it bounced off the rocky face with a CLACK, and bringing down a few small rocks with it for good measure. Just as he'd hoped, the three witches heard it and walked over towards the noise.

"Hah! We have you now!" Icy shouted.

_'That's what you think!'_ Tegryn thought to himself as he silently lowered himself onto the ground, before silently racing over towards them and poking Stormy on the back of the head.

"Hey!" she yelled. They span around to see him standing on a low branch looking down on them with a big grin on his face.

"Ah, so THERE you are!" said Darcy. "Have any last words before we pulverise you?"

Tegryn chuckled. "Yup... one down, two to go!"

The three girls looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm sorry Tegryn, but it'll take a lot more than a tap on the head to beat me!" Stormy ranted. "Now quit playing around and..." she said before letting out a huge yawn. "...and come down... down... here..." Stormy wobbled on her feet, yawning once more before collapsing in a heap, fast asleep. The other two witches looked at her bewildered before glaring up at Tegryn.

"What did you do to her?" Icy demanded.

Tegryn laughed. "I told you I didn't need magical powers to beat you!"

"Grrr... you'll pay for that!" Darcy yelled, unleashing a blast at Tegryn which he only just avoided.

_'Yow! That was to close for comfort! I'm gonna have to be careful now - they're really miffed at me!'_ he thought to himself as he jumped from one branch to another, climbing higher and higher. Icy and Darcy looked up.

"You really think you can escape us like that?" Darcy shouted.

"He seems to be forgetting something." Icy said to her. "You know, that small matter of us being able to fly."

Darcy looked at her and chuckled as they rose up above the treetops. They quickly spotted him, and treated him to a barrage of magical assaults which forced him away from the relative safety of the trunk and towards the edge of the branches. Darcy continued her attack, ensuring Tegryn kept his focus on her as Icy manoeuvred herself behind him. Tegryn soon found himself running out of branch, leaving no alternative but to leap into another nearby tree - that was just the opening Icy needed.

"Ice Coffin!" she shouted, sending her frozen blast straight towards him. Being in mid-air, he had no hope of avoiding it - the attack hit him straight on, encasing him in a large ball of ice which quickly crashed down through the branches, landing hard on the floor with a loud thud and leaving a small crater. He looked on helplessly as they approached with sinister grins on their faces.

"So Teggy... what ARE we going to do now?" Darcy gloated.

"I'll tell you what you're gonna do - you're gonna keep your filthy stinking hands off my boyfriend!"


	20. A Hard Choice

Icy and Darcy turned around to see Musa, Faragonda, Mei, Pui Yin and Sien Ko stood in front of them.

"Oh great, who let these pixies crash our party?"

"Pixies?" Mei whispered to Musa. "What's that girl talking about? And what have they done to my brother?"

"I'll explain later."

Meanwhile, Sien Ko had sauntered up to the witches quite oblivious to the danger she was in. Why? She was fascinated by Stormy, who was still curled on the ground, snoring away quite merrily.

"Hewwo sleepy lady!" she said to her. "I like your hair... can I touch it?"

Darcy stood menacingly over her.

"Get out of here you snot-nosed little brat!"

Sien Ko looked up at her, before walking towards her and kicking her in the shins as hard as she could.

"Nasty lady! Sien Ko no like you. Sien Ko only like sleepy lady!" she shouted before running over to Pui Yin in tears.

"Interesting," Faragonda said quietly as she looked upon the dozing witch. "How do you suppose that happened?"

"I wonder if Teggy did that?" Musa replied. "With any luck we'll find out soon."

Meanwhile the two remaining witches were trying to decide their next course of action.

"Looks like our fun here is over." Icy said to Darcy.

"Yeah, come on, let's get out of here," and in the blink of an eye they were gone, taking their sleeping sister with them.

Musa raced over to the frozen Tegryn and gazed at him, tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. She was so glad to see him that she didn't notice that the expression on his face had changed from one of shock and fright (plummeting a hundred feet whilst encased in a solid ball of ice will do that to you, every time) to one of sadness.

"Ms Faragonda, can you get him out?" Musa asked. Faragonda closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

"Yes, but it will take some time." A soft yellow aura began to envelop Tegryn, slowly melting away the ice in which he was trapped.

"What happened to him?" Pui Yin asked. "And who were those girls?"

"They're witches." Musa replied.

"Witches?" Pui Yin was shocked to hear this. Not the fact that they were witches, but the way Musa said it, as though she was somehow different to them. Of course, fairies and witches are different, but as far as Pui Yin was concerned, they were one and the same. Perhaps they're from a rival village or clan, something like that? Perhaps that's why Musa doesn't like them.

But why would these three be so interested in her Tegryn? Were they attacking him because of his relationship with Musa? Does he have anything in particular that they would want? Well, he does have some awesome power, and he is ravishingly handsome... that's it! That's why they're attacking him! They're all in love with him, and they're angry because he rejected them in favour of her! Of course... it's SO obvious!

_'Oh great'_ she thought to herself. _'That's all I need - more rivals for my Tegryn's love... and I thought Musa was evil!'_

Eventually, Faragonda's magic had done its job, and Tegryn was at last free from his icy cocoon. He slumped to the floor, dripping wet, and Musa and Pui Yin both ran over to him and picked him up.

"Teggy, I'm so glad you're alright!" Musa cried, hugging him tight... but Tegryn didn't return the favour. Instead, he backed off and stood there, bewildered, looking first at Musa, then at Pui Yin.

"Teggy? What's wrong?"

"I told you before - he hates you. He wants me instead!" Pui Yin said triumphantly as she took his hand... but Tegryn quickly withdrew it. "Huh? Tegryn... what are you doing?"

"I... I don't know. I need some time to think. This is all too much."

"But Teggy, you have to come back home with me... please?" Musa pleaded. "I love you."

"That's not what you said last time. You said we were finished and you never wanted to see me again. You said you hated me."

"But I didn't mean it. It was those witches, they planned the whole thing. They hypnotised you and..."

Tegryn raised his hand to stop her.

"Save me the explanation, Darcy told me all about it. It doesn't matter whether you were acting right or not, those things you said hurt me real bad. Magic or no magic, hate is a very strong word - it's one that shouldn't be used unless you really mean it."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Please Teggy, come back to Alfea. I'm sure we can work this out. I can't live without you... you're my soulmate, right? Please, won't you come back?"

Tegryn paused for a moment, closing his eyes and breathing heavily.

"No. I don't know if she told you this or not," he said, pointing at Faragonda, "But she removed my powers for good. I couldn't go back to Alfea even if I wanted to."

"That's not quite true Mr Devanallt." Faragonda replied. "I removed your powers indefinitely, not permanently, and it's a mistake that's easily rectified - Powerus Restorum!" With a wave of her hand, the same green and gold aura that had removed his powers quickly returned them. "There... now will you reconsider?"

Tegryn shook his head. "Like I told Pui Yin earlier, I need some time to think. I'm not coming back to Alfea... not yet anyway... not until I've got my head around everything. Now please... leave me alone."

"Teggy, please! I can't leave without you. You have to come back with me, you just have to!"

Without saying a word, Tegryn started to walk away with his head bowed and his arm around his sister. Musa looked on in disbelief - surely things can't end like this. Is this some kind of punishment for hurting him like that? He understood what happened, so... why won't he take her back?

"Tegryn?"

"Come now Musa. I don't think we should force the issue here." said Faragonda, putting a comforting arm around her whilst stifling a tear herself. "Give him what he wants. Give him time. I know his heart - deep down he still loves you. I'm sure he'll come back to you soon - just give him time."

With that, she opened a portal back to Alfea. Before stepping though it, Musa looked around at Tegryn one last time. He stopped and looked at her sadly.

"I love you." she whispered quietly. "Please come back..."

Tegryn looked at her for a few more seconds, his eyes overloaded with sadness, before picking Sien Ko up and walking away. This was so hard for him, but despite the pain, this was something he felt he had to do. Pui Yin looked on satisfied, and gave Musa a cheeky wave goodbye.

Musa started to weep uncontrollably - had all her efforts really been in vain?

"Please come back to me... please."


	21. Wishing On A Star

Clack... clack... clack...

"Are you going eat those noodles Tegryn dear, or are you just going to play with them?"

"Hmmm?" Tegryn was shaken from his thoughts by Jun's light-hearted question. "Sorry grandmother, I was just..."

"Thinking of Musa?"

Tegryn sighed. "Yeah, sort of."

"What's there to think about? You love her, don't you?"

"Yes, but... what she said back in Alfea really hurt me."

"But you know she didn't mean it. You know she was under the influence of that spell."

"Yes, I know but... I dunno, I guess I had the daft romantic notion that love can conquer all, but if it can't even stand up to a stupid little witch's spell..."

"I think you're being a little too hard on yourself there. The course of true love never runs smooth."

Tegryn smiled. "Heh... where did you get that cheesy line?"

"From a magazine somewhere. At least it got a smile out of you! So... is that the only thing stopping you from getting back together with Musa?"

"If only."

"Why, what else is there?"

"Pui Yin."

"Pui Yin?"

"Yeah... she still loves me, and to be honest I'd forgotten just how sweet she can be."

"Do you love her?"

"I don't know. Well, I guess I do. I know I'd be happy if I stayed here and married her, after all, there'd be no witches, no magical nasties trying to ruin things all the time - it'd be a nice simple, peaceful life... but... I don't love her in the same way I love Musa, or as much. Thing is, if I go back to Alfea, I could just get hurt again... I'm afraid. Grandmother... I keep getting the nasty feeling I may ruined things between me and Musa. Grandmother... have I done the right thing here by staying behind to think?"

"I think so, and don't worry dear... your heart will find a way of telling you the correct path to take."

Tegryn stood up and leant on a window sill, gazing up at the stars, focusing on a particularly bright one which seemed to shine with a beautiful pale blue light.

"I just wish I knew what to do..."

* * *

Meanwhile in Alfea, Musa was laid out on her bed with Polli sitting on her tummy, both silent and miserable. Tune was sat next to them, trying to soothe Musa as best as she could. 

"I still don't understand. I've thought it through again and again, and I don't understand why Tegryn would still be so hurt. I mean, he knows the truth about what happened, and I've apologised for all those nasty things I said."

"Yes, you did the right thing by setting him straight, but you can't expect his pain to go away just like that. Don't forget, he's spent most of his life on the road so he has very little experience in matters of the heart. Everything that's happened here recently must have been a massive shock to the system."

"What can I do? Should I go back and try again?"

Tune pondered this for a short while. "I think you should continue following Faragonda's advice and give him some time. You've done your part, you've let him know what the situation is... all you can do now is wait."

"But... I'm not so sure. What if he decides not to come back to me?"

"Can you give me one reason why he might not?"

"Pui Yin."

"Pui Yin?"

"Yeah... she still loves him, and every moment here's there in An-Chuan it gives her more time to try and hook up with him. What if he decides he'll be happier with her than with me?"

"That's a rather big 'what if', if you don't mind me saying so, and one which I think is rather unlikely. We all know he's mad about you - he wouldn't have been so upset in the first place if he wasn't. Trust me, just sit tight and let things settle. Time heals all wounds, you know."

Musa smiled. "Heh... where did you get that cheesy line?"

"From a magazine somewhere. At least it got a smile out of you!"

"Tune... have I done the right thing here by letting him stay behind to think?"

"I think so, and don't worry dear... his heart will find a way of telling him the correct path to take."

Musa stood up and leant on a window sill, gazing up at the stars, focusing on a particularly bright one which seemed to shine with a beautiful pale blue light.

"I just wish I knew what to do..."


	22. A Musical Journey

"Ah, now that's nice!"

Tegryn sat down and dipped his feet in the stream - it felt surprisingly warm, certainly not like the ice-cold mountain stream near his village. Come to think of it, none of this seemed like his village - the pastel green grass, the gentle rolling hills, the powder blue sky... it seemed almost like a dream.

He smiled... this WAS a dream, and thankfully a much nicer one than the ones he'd been having recently. Just as he was taking in this wonderful scenery, he heard a faint rustling behind him - footsteps in the grass.

"Oh Tegryn, what am I going to do with you?"

He looked up to see a familiar face looking back down at him with a friendly smile on her face, her soft black hair shining in the mellow sunlight - it was Musa's mother, accompanied by a cute little fluffy bunny rabbit.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Sure, go for it."

She sat down next to him and placed a stereo on her lap.

"Um, what's that for?"

"To try and teach you a little lesson in the best way I know how - I want you listen closely, okay?" she said as she pressed the play button. Tegryn listened intently to the intro.

"Ooh, I think I know this song - it's from Earth!"

"Shh!"

_♪ I took a ride on a fairytale road ♪_  
_♪ I lost my heart there once, now I want it back, I want it back ♪_  
_♪ I thought that love is as cool as ice ♪_  
_♪ Now I am the fool 'cos it's not like that ♪_  
_♪ Now I feel regret ♪_

She paused the music.

"Awww, why did you stop it? I like that song!"

"Were you listening to the words?"

"The words? Yes, it was, erm... I lost my heart on a fairytale road... "

"STOP!" He was interrupted mid-song by Musa's mother, who was covering her ears and grimacing. "Please, don't sing again - this is meant to be a dream, not a nightmare!"

"Sorry." he said, sniggering. "Your husband didn't seem to mind my singing."

"My husband was being far too polite! Now, were you listening to those words? The girl in that song was saying that the course of true love never runs smooth, as your grandmother has already said. Like you, she thought love is all good with no probs whatsoever, but there will always be highs and lows - that's something you can't avoid, and you can't keep running away every time something goes a little bit wrong."

"If you're talking about me coming here, I didn't exactly have much choice - I was chucked out of Alfea, in case you didn't know."

"Yes, I know all about that. I also know that Musa came here to tell you she made a dreadful mistake and she still loves you... and yet you didn't go back to her."

"But it's like I told her, I needed some time away to think."

"What's there to think about? You love her, she loves you - end of story. In fact, she doesn't just love you, she NEEDS you. She needs you more than you'll ever know."

"And I need her too, but..."

"You're still worried about getting hurt again?" she said, putting her arm around him. "Look, I understand I know how much you're hurting right now. You've never really had to go through anything like this, have you?"

"I guess not. But how can I go back after what happened? Even if Musa has forgiven me, what about the others? What about Anyuna? She's bound to hate me. I can't go back, I just can't!"

"Of course you can."

He sighed. "I don't know. If only I knew what to do."

"Deep down inside, you already know. Listen."

Tegryn strained to hear, but the only sounds he could hear was the bubbling of running water and the singing of birds nearby.

"Well, those birds sound very nice, but why do I need to listen to them?"

"Not the birds you fool, listen to your HEART. It's trying to tell you something."

Tegryn closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly he opened them again - there in front of him, he could see a vision of Musa, looking out sadly at the stars. He sighed a great sigh of sadness.

"She looks so miserable."

"She IS miserable, Tegryn, she is. She's missing you terribly. She's afraid you're never going to take her back. In fact, I'd say she's more afraid than she's ever been in her entire life."

"And all because of my selfishness, because I put my own stupid feelings ahead of hers."

"Well, I think you're being a bit hard of yourself there... in fact, you're being very hard."

"Whatever. I have to go back right now before things get any worse."

"Good - that's my boy!" she beamed. "And look, she's not the only one missing you."

Tegryn looked, and gasped when he saw his little companion sat next to Musa looking just as sad.

"Polli! Oh Polli, I'd forgotten all about her! How could I have been so stupid?"

Tegryn stood up, rejuvenated with his new determination. Musa's mother also stood up, but before she could do anything, Tegryn had her trapped in a rather enthusiastic hug.

"Thank you! Thank you for making me see sense! Thank you so much... erm..."

"What is it?"

Tegryn giggled nervously. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... what's your name? I mean, I can hardly go through the rest of my life calling you 'Musa's mom', now can I?"

"Of course not." she replied smiling from ear to ear - the reference to 'the rest of his life' filled her with great hope for her daughter's future. "Allegra. My name's Allegra."

"Allegra? That's a really nice name."

"Why thank you! Now go on, be off with you - there's a certain young lady who can't wait to see you!"

"Oh, can't I stay here just a little longer? I want to hear the rest of that song!"

"Look, just go will you? Don't make me get all mother-in-law on you!"

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going! And thank you for everything!" Tegryn shouted to Allegra as he waved, the dreamscape fading from view all the while.

He soon found himself back in his room, which was slowly being filled with a warm orange glow from the rising sun. Without wasting any time he packed his belongings, but just as he was about to leave, a thought occurred to him - he had unfinished business here. He put down his bag, picked up a pen and a piece of paper, and started to write.

* * *

**Vaguely interesting fact #1: the song Allegra played for Tegryn is 'Find Me' by Jam & Spoon. This song uses a sample from another of their tracks called 'Oddysey to Anyoona', which is where I got the name Anyuna (and the title for Chapter 8) from.**

**Vaguely interesting fact #2: Allegra is an Italian name meaning 'lively' or 'joyous'. It also sounds very close to Allegro, which is a musical term - rather apt for a Melody fairy, don't you think?**


	23. Pui Yin's Anguish

"La da dee!... a splash of perfume here, a splash of perfume there..."

Pui Yin sung happily as she prepared herself - she had got up at the crack of dawn just to get herself ready. She smiled as she admired herself in the mirror - she looked even more beautiful than ever, just the thing her dear Tegryn needed after the traumatic events of yesterday.

_'Just you wait sweetheart, I'll make you the happiest man alive, happier than that witch could ever make you. Soon, we'll be living out the rest of our lives as man and wife, just as it should be.'_

She left her house and skipped joyfully down the street carrying a small hamper of food. She had the whole day planned out - a surprise early morning picnic at a particularly romantic spot near the river. To her mind, the flame of their past love had been rekindled, and today she intended to turn it into a raging inferno.

She quickly arrived at their home, the spring in her step had obviously helped her along. Confidently, she knocked on the door, which Mei answered.

"Pui Yin? It's a bit early, isn't it? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Tegryn. Is he awake?"

"Yes he is. In fact you're just in time."

"Just in time? In time for what?" asked Pui Yin, puzzled. As she entered the living room, she was greeting by the sight of Tegryn, fully laden rucksack on his back, about to walk through a portal. She stood motionless.

"Tegryn? Where are you going?"

"Pui Yin... I'm sorry."

A look of pure horror suddenly appeared on her face. "No! You can't be! Surely you can't be going back to that Musa girl, not after what she did?"

Tegryn nodded his head sadly. "Everything that happened was a terrible mistake, beyond our control. I still love her Pui."

"But **I** love you! I love you more than she ever could. I'll never hurt you, I'll never put you through what she has. Can't you see that? Can't you see what that witch is doing to you?"

"She's not a witch."

"Yes she is, she doesn't fool me. She's an evil witch and she has you under her spell. Please, fight it! You can do it, you can beat her. Just stay here with me!"

"Pui Yin, she is NOT a witch and she certainly isn't evil. It WAS evil witches who caused all that in the first place, and during this time apart I've realised just how much I need her. I'm sorry, but I have to go back to Alfea now."

"NOOOOO!" she wailed as she ran up to Tegryn and held him tight. "I can't lose you Tegryn, not again... please, don't do this to me! I'm begging you... don't leave me." she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest.

"Pui Yin, please... I have to go now."

"No! I'm not letting you go Tegryn! I'm not losing you, not again!"

Tegryn sighed - he had hoped that he could've avoided this. Despite his bravery in battle, he couldn't face up to leaving Pui Yin and so he had said everything he needed to say to her in a letter in an effort to avoid breaking her poor heart, but now he was faced with exactly that situation - her heart was shattering into a million pieces in front of everyone, and it was all down to him. He had to make things better somehow, but how? If only there was some way he could turn back the clock so that their kiss by the pond never happened, or better still, that he never had to come here in the first place, he and Musa were still happy together and this whole situation had never occurred.

And then it came to him - there was a way.

"I wish I didn't have to do this." he muttered quietly. "Pui Yin?"

"Yes?"

"Look into my eyes."

"Hmm?"

"Please, look into my eyes."

Pui Yin wiped the tears from her eyes and did as she was asked - why shouldn't she look into those gorgeous blue eyes of his? Trouble was, they were no longer their normal shade of blue, they were glowing a deep steely blue.

"Tegryn, what's happened? Your... eyes..." her voice trailed away as she fell under his spell.

"Pui Yin, in a moment you will fall asleep, and when you wake up you will forget everything about my visit here and the circumstances surrounding it. Do you understand?"

"Yes..."

"Good. Now sleep!"

Pui Yin obediently slumped into his arms, and Tegryn carried her into his room and laid her out on his bed.

"I'm sorry, Pui. I'm sorry for everything, and I'm sorry I had to do this but there was no other way. At least this way you won't get hurt. Goodbye."

He quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Okay, it's time for me to go now." he said, giving Jun and Mei one last goodbye cuddle before stepping into the portal.

"Good luck, brother!" Mei shouted after him. "I hope everything works out okay!"

"Yes, good luck. Give our love to Musa and the others, okay?"

"Okay, I will! Goodbye!"

And with that, the portal closed and he was gone. He soon found himself standing outside Alfea's gates. He quietly made his way into the castle. Inside, all was silent. It was still early morning, so everyone was still asleep... or so he thought. As he crept into the main hall, he became filled with a growing sense of unease, but he couldn't quite his finger on it.

What is it? He didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, he knew it wasn't good and he needed to be somewhere else. With a growing sense of urgency, he threw his backpack down in the middle of the hall and dashed out of the main gates.


	24. Evil Never Sleeps

"No... please come back... please..."

Half an hour earlier, and poor Musa was having what could only be described as a restless night. Even while sleeping, she couldn't get the image of Tegryn walking away from her out of her head, and in particular the look on his face - having such a powerfully sad and haunting image doing the rounds in your head over and over again makes for very little peace indeed. She sat up in her bed and groaned as she looked at her alarm clock.

"5:30? Already?"

She smiled weakly as her gaze fell upon the object next to her clock - just like Tegryn, she kept a photo of the two of them together right where she couldn't miss it. She picked it up and looked at it longingly.

"I miss you Teggy. I wish you'd come back, I really do. If only you knew how much I need you."

There was a small splash as a tear fell from her eye and landed on the frame. She wearily got up out of bed and threw on whatever clothes she could find. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep now - her troubled mind simply wouldn't let her. However, just as she was brushing her teeth, she noticed a small figure sitting at her window.

"Aww, Polli... couldn't you sleep neither?"

The little pixie shook her head. Musa picked her up.

"I'm gonna go for a little walk to try and clear my head a bit before lessons start - you fancy coming?"

Polli nodded.

"Cool!" Musa said as she spat out a mouthful of toothpaste and water. "Come on then, let's go."

Pretty soon, Musa had quietly strolled out of the castle and was sauntering through the forest with Polli perched on her shoulder. The early morning sun had only been up for an hour or so, and it hadn't quite got round to warming up the crisp night air that still hung around, nor had it been able to get rid of the dew that still dampened the woodland floor. Eventually she arrived at the large lake near Alfea, and sat down at its shore, looking out over the still waters which were lightly shrouded with mist.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, taking in a lungful of pure, crisp morning air. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, a real oasis of tranquillity - it was so peaceful that the fact that her butt was getting soaked from the morning dew didn't bother her one bit. Instead she was caught up in her own thoughts... happy thoughts of the past with her and Tegryn together without a care in the world, and even happier thoughts of what may lie ahead. She smiled as she remembered their first kiss - it was one of the sweetest moments of her life, one that she would treasure forever, no matter what. She could've stayed like this forever, but her thoughts were to be rudely interrupted.

"Well look what we have here girls - one lonely little pixie!"

Musa stood up with a start - just as she'd guessed, Icy, Darcy and Stormy stood before her. Polli clung tight to her arm and started crying in fear.

"You're up rather early." Musa coolly replied.

"Evil never sleeps, especially when there's twerps like you to annoy." said Icy.

"What do you want?"

"Aww, what's the matter Musie? Been tossed aside by your boyfriend like the piece of garbage you are?" Darcy taunted.

Musa gulped. "No." she replied, her voice shaking. "He'll be back, just you see."

"I don't think so. Even though you somehow managed to uncover our little plan, he's too hurt - he'll never come back to you now. You've blown it, big time!"

"Yeah, right now he's probably getting nice and cosy with that Pui Yin girl."

"No way. He's mine, not hers."

"Hah! Check it out girls, the pixie's delusional!" Darcy laughed. "You may as well give up on him now - the more hope you pin on him racing back into your arms, the greater your disappointment will be when you finally realise the truth."

Icy tutted as the three of them closed in on her. "Now then pixie... what ARE we going to do with you?"

"I'll tell you what you're gonna do - you're gonna keep your filthy stinking hands off my girlfriend!"


	25. Welcome Back!

****

Musa gasped when she heard that voice... could it be?

"Teggy! You're back!" Musa yelled happily as she raced, nay, hurtled into his arms. "I can't believe it! You came back, you really came back!"

"I just couldn't keep away from you!" he replied. "I love you too much!"

Musa gazed up lovingly into his eyes - that old adorable spark was there, and even though he wasn't performing any magic on her, she could feel herself falling deeper into his spell... and she loved every second of it. As she looked up at him, she could feel the electricity building up inside her, threatening to burst out in a torrent of emotion. They stood there, holding each other, tenderly looking at each other until she could take it no more - she drew him closer to her and kissed him hungrily.

Never mind their first kiss, never mind the many romantic dates they had taken together, never mind those little surprises that make love so much fun... this was THE sweetest kiss ever, the kiss she had been yearning for like never before, the kiss that was finally satisfying the gnawing hunger in her heart.

It certainly didn't concern either of them that they had an audience, and one that didn't appreciate the beautiful scene that was unfolding before them.

"Oh please, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Tegryn slowly stopped and turned towards Darcy.

"What's the matter? Annoyed that your pathetic little plan to split us up has failed? We've taken the best you can throw at us and we're back together for good. Don't like it? Too bad, deal with it."

"Oh, we'll deal with it alright, by finishing what we started in your village."

"What, you mean you want the same treatment Stormy got? That's fine by me!"

"Do you really think you'll get all three of us like that?"

"Yep!"

Suddenly, Tegryn opened up a portal beneath him which he disappeared into.

"Hey! Where did he go?" said Icy, startled.

"Behind you!" he replied, quickly tapping them on the back of their heads before they had a chance to react.

"Why you!" Icy growled. "Quit fooling around and... and..."

All three of them let out a loud simultaneous yawn before slowly tottering over, slumping onto the soft grass as they fell into a deep sleep.

"Heh! That's funny no matter how many times I do it!"

Musa ran over to him with a big grin on her face, carefully stepping over the dozing trio.

"So it WAS you who did that to Stormy before! How?"

"Remember a while ago when I was giving you that foot massage, and I was telling you about those ancient shiatsu techniques my grandmother taught me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, that's exactly what I did there - I tapped a pressure point on the back of the head that sends a person to sleep!"

Musa laughed. "So you really can relax on opponent into submission! That's way cool! I always knew you were amazing... speaking of amazing, how did you know where to find us?"

"It's kinda odd really - when I arrived in Alfea just now, I suddenly got this bad feeling. I could sense Polli was scared, that she was in danger, and it led me here... I guess our bond is stronger than I first thought." Tegryn explained as he looked around him. "Speaking of Polli, where is she?"

"I don't know." Musa replied as she joined in the search. "She took off when those three showed their faces - she was so frightened. Polli! Come on Polli, it's okay now, you can come out!"

Polli poked her little head out from inside a bush and grinned. Tegryn's face lit up when he spotted her.

"There you are! Come here, you little lifesaver!" he yelled as he flung his arms open. Polli flew over and hugged him as hard as her tiny arms could manage. "I owe you so much!" Tegryn said as he peppered her little face with kisses. "It's because of you we're all back together. We're gonna give you the biggest treat possible tonight, right Musa?"

"You bet!" she replied enthusiastically. "Come on, we'd better get back to Alfea - we don't want everyone getting worried about us! There's just one thing Teggy."

"Oh yes, what's that?"

"Next time I tell you you're dumped, just ignore me, okay?"

Tegryn laughed. "What do you mean, NEXT time?"


	26. A Grand Entrance

"Musa! Musa! Get up will you? It's almost time for classes!"

Bloom stood outside her bedroom door, waiting for a response. Stella joined her, finally ready after spending a typically long time preening herself.

"Hey Bloom, what's going on?" she asked as she munched on a nice healthy banana.

"Have you seen Musa anywhere?"

"Erm... nope. Why, isn't she in there?"

"I don't know."

"Well, why don't we look?"

Slowly, Bloom opened the door with a creak, and the two of them walked in.

"She's not in bed." Bloom said.

"And she's not in her bathroom either." Stella added. "But wherever she is, she's dressed." she said, pointing to Musa's pyjamas which had been left in a heap on the floor.

"Hmmm... maybe she's gone to the library, or gone to classes early."

"Musa? Gone to classes early? Has the whole realm gone mad?" Stella joked.

Bloom giggled. "Ah well, I guess it's nothing to worry about. May as well go and catch her up."

As the Winx Girls made their way along the corridors of Alfea, they were soon joined by the Starz.

"Hey guys, have any of you seen Musa?" Bloom asked.

"No, not today." said Charlotte. "Why, isn't she with you guys?"

Bloom shook her head. "We haven't seen her at all this morning. We're guessing she's gone to classes early."

"I hope you're right..."

* * *

Of course, Bloom and Stella were wrong - Musa, Tegryn and Polli were walking arm in arm up to the castle. Quite understandably, Musa was in a rather bubbly mood. 

"Oooh, I can't wait to see the guy's faces! They're gonna be so stoked!" she said as they approached the front door. "Come on Teggy, hurry up - let's go in!"

Tegryn stopped. "No... hang on a minute."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong - it's just that, well, if we want to make an impression, we can't just go walking in like normal, can we?"

"O-kay," said Musa, a little bit confused. "So... what do you wanna do?"

"This!" he said as he quickly swept her up off her feet and cradled her in his arms like some brave knight carrying a damsel in distress.

"Ooh, my hero!" she giggled girlishly.

* * *

Back inside, the girls were walking down the main staircase. 

"Hey, what's that!" Charlotte said, pointing to a large brown object lying in the middle of the floor. Everyone ran up to it to check it out. "It's Teggy's rucksack! He's back!" she squealed excitedly. "He's back, he's back!"

"So where is he?"

Bloom's question was answered in the most dramatic way possible, as the front doors opened with a slam to reveal two figures standing there, one holding the other in his arms, silhouetted in the bright daylight. The girls stood there, squinting in the glare of the sun as they tried to make out their faces.

"Hey guys! Look what I found!" Musa called out to them.

"Did you miss me?" Tegryn added.

"Teggy! It IS you!" Charlotte yelled as she sprinted up to them. Tegryn barely had enough time to put Musa down before his friend was hugging him tightly. "I knew you come back! I knew everything would be okay! Oh, I've missed you!" she cried happily.

"We've all missed you Teggy. Welcome back!" Bloom added, just about managing to get a little welcome-back hug of her own in before the other girls were crowded round them, chattering happily as Musa regaled them of how he had rescued her and Polli from the Trix's clutches. This carried on for a few minutes, before the small crowd parted.

Tegryn blinked. There before him was...

"Yuni..."

They stood there in an awkward silence, both looking down at the ground nervously for a brief moment which seemed to last for ages.

"I'm... I'm glad you're back." Anyuna said uneasily.

"Yeah," Tegryn replied, not quite sure how to handle this situation. "Erm... are you okay?"

"I'm okay." she answered. Another long awkward silence. "Umm... I've just remembered, I've left some books in my room. I'll see you later!"

Tegryn looked on as she ran up the corridor, a sad heavy feeling welling up in his heart. He sighed. He and Anyuna had always been good friends but now that was ruined, and through no fault of their own too. Yet another reason to hate those three witches.

"Teggy? Teggy, are you okay?" Musa asked as she and the others looked on in concern. She couldn't help but notice the way he felt so uncomfortable around Anyuna, and she had easily guessed what was going on in his mind. "Teggy, she knows you were hypnotised when... THAT... happened."

"Yes," he sighed heavily, "But even so... it WAS me who did that to her..."


	27. Awkward Moments

Normality... when you're living a magical life, normality can be a great thing.

A week had passed, and things were more or less getting back to normal. For Tegryn and Musa that meant the normal morning routine, with her walking him to his first lesson just to make sure he got there on time. Of course, they now realised just how important their time together really was, and so they spent virtually every moment holding each other, kissing, telling each other just how special they were, which meant that more often than not they still turned up late, spending even more time than usual enjoying each other's company as only two lovers could.

Today was no exception. The bell for the first lesson had already sounded but they blissfully ignored it, standing together in a tender embrace.

"I love you so much." Tegryn said dreamily as he playfully twiddled one of her ponytails. "Much more than you could possibly imagine."

"Really?" Musa asked as she ran a hand gently up and down his chest, staring deep into his azure blue eyes.

"Really." he replied, and he certainly wasn't lying. As painful as their recent experience was, one good thing had come out of it - it had made him understand the true depth of his feelings for her, and they were now deeper than he had ever felt before. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder - that little proverb could well have been written especially for him. "I never want to lose you again."

Musa sighed happily and rested her head against his body. "Me neither" she said as she felt her soul drawing ever deeper into his with every soft beat of his heart. "Me neither..."

After a particularly long and passionate kiss they reluctantly went their separate ways, and Tegryn walked into the classroom. Now, although things had more or less gotten back to normal, there was still one thing wrong - the continuing strain on his friendship with Anyuna. Ever since his return, the only words they had exchanged were nothing more than polite greetings. Tegryn still felt guilty for hurting her so much, laying all the blame at his own doorstep for allowing himself to be used in such a disgusting manner. On the other hand, Anyuna still carried a secret burden of guilt for the whole episode - after all, she was the one who got herself into trouble in the first place, and willingly too.

The other Starz girls had noticed this strain between the two of them, and had done their best to get them talking again. As far as lessons were concerned, this meant discreetly making sure that they were sat next to each other at all times, or making sure they were paired off for any projects. The nearest they got to a conversation that day was when Anyuna accidentally brushed his hand whilst reaching for her pen, which had rolled over to his side of the table (with a little magical help from Mimi). They quickly looked at each other and chuckled uncomfortably before putting their heads back down to work.

And so the awkwardness continued through the entire morning. Both Tegryn and Anyuna hated what was happening, but both were too ill at ease with each other to put it right. That was until they were all making their way towards the dining hall for lunch, when quite out of the blue Anyuna spoke up.

"Teggy... we can't go on like this."

Tegryn was taken aback by this - he certainly wasn't expecting her to speak so directly to him right at this very moment.

"What do you mean?"

"I think... we need to talk. I have things I want to say."

"Right... well, we can't really talk here." he said as he looked out into the courtyard. "Let's go over to the fountain."

Without saying a word, they walked together as Charlotte and the twins looked on.

"Hey guys, what are you looking at?"

They looked over to see Musa and the Winx girls joining them. Charlotte smiled as she looked back at Tegryn and Anyuna walking away.

"They're finally going to clear the air..."


	28. Confessions From The Heart

****

"What do you girls think you're playing at? Get back in the queue immediately!"

Being a natural stickler for the rules, Griselda was naturally curious to know exactly why a small group of students were crowded around a window.

"It's nothing Ms Griselda, it's just that..."

The vice-principal was in no mood for explanations, for she had just spotted for herself what was drawing their attention.

"What on Majix are they doing out there? Don't they know it's lunchtime? I'll soon sort them out..."

"No, please." Charlotte pleaded as she stood in her way, giving her the best puppy-dog expression she could muster. "Let them talk - it's really important."

Griselda looked at her for a second, then looked back out at Tegryn and Anyuna before finally relenting. After the rough ride they've had, she supposed a bit of leniency wouldn't hurt.Hmmph. Very well, I'll give them a couple of minutes."

* * *

Tegryn and Anyuna walked over to the fountain and sat down, all without saying a thing or looking at each other. For a while they just sat there, desperately trying to find a half-decent opening line. Eventually, Anyuna broke the silence. 

"Teggy... I've, um... got a confession to make."

"A confession?"

"Yes. Everything that happened... you getting hypnotised and getting framed... everyone turning against you... it's all my fault." she said, sniffing.

Tegryn was rather bemused by this. "I don't understand. How could all that be your fault? I mean, you weren't the one who did all that, it was those witches. They were the ones who kidnapped you and..."

Anyuna shook her head. "Those three didn't kidnap me... I went to Shadowhaunt on my own."

"You went there on your own? Why would you do that? You know how dangerous it is there!"

"I know, I know... I just didn't know what else to do. You see..." Anyuna took in a deep breath - this was going to take a hell of a lot of courage, and she knew full well that what she said next could seriously wreck their friendship, perhaps even destroy it completely, but she just couldn't live with herself any longer. "...I was in love with you."

Tegryn's eyebrows attempted to do a high jump off his face. Did he just hear her right?

"You were in love with me?"

"Uh huh. It was a stupid crush and it was driving me crazy. I knew it was wrong. I tried so hard to get rid of those feelings but... I just couldn't."

"Well I... I certainly wasn't expecting that. It still doesn't explain what you were doing in Shadowhaunt though."

"I went there 'cos I thought I could get Darcy to help me."

"Darcy? How could SHE help you?"

"I wanted her to hypnotise me out of love with you."

"Ah! So THAT'S what all that hypnotism stuff back in Majix City was all about."

"Yes! I wanted you to get rid of my crush for me, but when you said you couldn't and that only Darcy could, I thought maybe I could get her to do it, but..."

Her voice trailed away as she started to weep. Tegryn placed a tentative hand on her shoulder to try and ease her mind a bit.

"It's okay Yuni, I understand." he said as soothingly as he could. "Sure, what you did what pretty dumb, but it's pretty touching too, going to all that trouble just to make sure... well, you know, make sure nothing happened between us. I gotta ask one thing though... do you still love me?"

"No, not any more - well, not like THAT anyway. You see, when you came for me back at the witches' place... well, I was so happy to see you and when you hugged me I enjoyed it at first. But it was then I realised that my feelings for you were totally wrong, and it wasn't because of what you were doing to me. I knew then that we should only be friends and nothing more. Of course I didn't really understand it for a while 'cos I was so hurt. I guess even those witches have their uses"

"Yeah," Tegryn sighed. "It's a shame it had to be so painful though, for all of us. Did anyone else know about your crush?"

"Only Layla. Please, Teggy, you mustn't tell anyone else about this."

"Don't worry Yuni, I won't tell a soul - you have my word on that."

For the first time in their conversation, Anyuna looked at him - he was looking back at her with a kind understanding smile on his face.

"Teggy... I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with me any more. I almost wrecked everything..."

He interrupted her. "Yuni, don't even go there, okay?"

"What, so... are you saying we're still cool?"

Tegryn laughed.

"We'll always be cool. Yuni, you're one of my closest friends, one of the best friends I've ever had and you'll always will be. Come here." he said, opening his arms and giving her a gentle hug. "We'll always be friends."

"Thank you Teggy, thank you."

* * *

Charlotte gasped, barely able to contain her happiness. "Guys, they're hugging, they're hugging!" 

Musa wiped a tear from her eye, as did the rest of what was becoming an ever-larger audience that had gathered together, peering out of the window - even Griselda managed a small smile as she watched this touching sight, although she'd probably deny it if you asked her.

* * *

Tegryn and Anyuna stood up, ready to go back. Suddenly Tegryn stopped. 

"Yuni?"

"Yes Teggy?"

"Seeing as you're sharing intimate secrets with me now, I've got one of my own that I want to share with you. I've been bursting to tell someone for days now."

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

Tegryn leant forward and whispered in her ear. A sudden look of shock and surprise appeared on Anyuna's face, followed by a broad grin of pure glee.

"No way! Teggy, that's so amazing! Are you really gonna do it?"

He nodded.

"When?" she asked.

"At the end-of-year prom."

She got up, clapping, skipping and jumping with joy before clasping him in an excited hug. "Oooh, I can't wait! This is gonna be the greatest prom ever!"


	29. Making Preparations

Bloom lay back and stared up at the little fluffy clouds as they floated on by, her head resting on Sky's lap as he gently stroked her long, red hair. A warm breeze played over them, carrying the fragrant scent of a distant patch of wild flowers from the other side of the lake. Lockette sat nearby, playfully picking daisies in her bid to make the longest chain in history - so far she had managed to string nine together, but she was getting a bit annoyed because her flowers kept disappearing courtesy of a hungry Kiko.

"Say, Sky?" Bloom said.

"Yes?"

"What do you think I should wear to the prom? A blue dress, or a red one?"

Sky laughed. "I was planning on wearing a gold dinner suit - you'd better not clash with me!"

"Gold?" she giggled. "That's rather fancy, isn't it? Anyway, I don't think I'll be wearing gold - Stella's beaten me to it, as usual. So what about the other guys - what are they wearing?"

"I have absolutely no idea. Timmy'll probably be wearing a silvery grey to match Tecna, and the others? I guess they'll be in plain black tuxes - they're not as adventurous as I am!"

Bloom chuckled - Sky always knew how to make her laugh, just one of the many fine qualities she loved about him. In fact, if you asked her exactly what she loved about him, you'd be in for a very VERY long list, one that would probably take all day to read out. She smiled as, rather appropriately, a vaguely heart-shaped cloud drifted overhead.

"It's so good that we're all together now isn't it?" she sighed happily as she watched Layla and Jason sharing a tender moment, Flora and Helia walking hand-in-hand by the lakeside, Brandon laughing as he fed Stella strawberries in an ultra-romantic style, and Riven trying to persuade Charlotte to dip her toes in the water with very little success - being a fire fairy from the scorching hot world of Nahri, water just wasn't Charlotte's thing.

"Yeah, it's all good. Even Musa and Teggy - mind you, they've given us a few scares, haven't they? Come to think of it, where are they?"

"Hmmm. I think Teggy's doing his usual extra magic lessons with Griselda right now - he told me he needs to know more defensive magic so he can protect Musa better, especially after that run-in with Kaiser, so he's putting in a bit more work after school. And as for Musa... I dunno, she's probably in her room."

"In her room? Why, what's wrong? Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah. In fact she's better than okay, she's been really chirpy these last couple of days, and she's been... well, singing... a LOT."

"Singing?"

"Uh-huh. I'm not complaining though, she's got one hell of a voice."

"She must be REALLY happy then... can't think why!"

"Yep!" Bloom replied laughing. "There's nothing like being in love to get a music fairy singing!"

* * *

"That's very good Tegryn, you're finally making progress."Tegryn bent over, hands on his knees, a little bit breathless. 

"Thank you Ms Griselda, that's very kind of you."

It wasn't often Griselda complimented him (or anyone else for that matter), so he made sure to make a mental note of it. He had found Griselda's lessons in defensive magic tough going, particularly this new spell she had just taught him - it had taken every ounce of effort and concentration he had in him to get right. All he knew is that once he had got the hang of it, it'd be well worth it.

"You seem rather distracted today though - is there something on your mind?"

He smiled. "Well, actually there is one thing..."

They were interrupted by Faragonda walking into the room. She smiled at the sight of Tegryn exhausted but smiling - after the events of the past couple of weeks, she had feared that he would lose his drive to learn, perhaps even drop out of Alfea altogether, so it heartened her to see that the opposite was true.

"I trust your extra lessons are going smoothly?"

"Yes they are, Ms Griselda has taught me well."

Faragonda smiled. "So, what were you about to say as I walked in?"

"Actually I'm rather glad I've got the two of you here together - I kinda need advice from both of you on something... something big. You wouldn't mind shutting that door, would you?"

Puzzled, Ms Faragonda slowly did as she was asked as Tegryn prepared to tell all...


	30. A Night At The Prom

The big night had arrived.

Every girl looks forward to their school prom, and fairies are no exception - the chance to dress up fancy and look even more glamorous than usual is one not to be passed up. Stella had spent almost the entire day (not to mention a hefty part of her allowance) getting her hair and nails done at the top boutique in Majix - hey, a princess has got to look her best, right? Most of the other girls had spent more than just a little time at the spa exfoliating away without a care in the world, with Musa entertaining the others by singing sweetly in the mud-bath, using up what seemed to be every song in her repertoire (although she'd made a point of saving a special one for later).

Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Riven, Helia and Jason had also put in an effort, scrubbing up as best they could especially for their ladies. They arrived in Alfea along with the other boys from Red Fountain and did a quick spot check, just to make sure everything was in order...

Neatly pressed dinner suits and shirts? Check.

Spotlessly polished shoes? Check

Immaculately brushed hair? Check.

Well-brushed teeth? Check.

Half-decent aftershave? Check (double-check in one or two cases).

Yes, everything was well in order, and so they made their way into the castle to escort the girls to the main dance hall, but as soon as they set foot inside the castle, they were met with the sight of Tegryn pacing up and down, looking rather fidgety, occasionally putting his hand in his trouser pocket to feel some sort of small object, perhaps to check that it hadn't climbed out on its own.

"Hi Teggy!" Sky called out. "Everything alright? You're looking rather nervous."

"Hmmm? Oh yes, everything's fine, I guess. It's just..."

"Ah, I think I get it. I guess this is your first prom, huh? Don't worry, I'm sure you're an excellent dancer!"

"Heh. No, it's nothing like that, it's just, um, well... you'll see... if I don't chicken out first."

As they walked up the main staircase, they were met by the Starz. Anyuna, dressed in a typically stunning white sequinned cocktail dress with a split up one leg, smiled excitedly at Tegryn as she ran up to him and whispered in his ear.

"I'm really looking forward to this!" she said quietly, nudging him. "Are you still... you know?"

"Uh-huh, definitely. It's all arranged."

"Ooh, I can't wait!" she squealed excitedly as she pulled at his arm. "Come on Teggy, let's hurry up and get Musa!"

But Tegryn wasn't in a hurry - he, along with everyone else was smiling at the touching sight of Charlotte, who had raced into Riven's arms and was hugging him tight.

"Wow... you look beautiful." Riven said, admiring her in her sparkling red dress. She blushed and giggled shyly when she heard this.

"You... you really think so?"

"Definitely... totally breathtaking!"

Charlotte giggled again. "Thanks. You're looking rather hunky yourself!" she said as she stood up on tiptoes to kiss him.

They were interrupted by Sky, who was more than eager to see just how stunning his love looked. "Ahem! Come on guys, save it for the dancefloor!" he laughed.

They made their way up to the girls' rooms, where they were met by the dazzling sight of their respective girlfriends in full prom mode... except for Tegryn, who was left looking around him like a little boy lost on a beach.

"Hey guys... where's Musa?" he asked, his voice tinged slightly with worry.

"He he... I'm right behind you!"

He turned around and stared in awe at the jaw-dropping vision that stood before him, his heart fluttering wildly as he gazed at Musa in her dazzling navy blue ruffled ballgown. Just for this one night, she had let her hair loose out of its ponytails, having it styled so it was swept forwards at the bottom - it seemed to be setting a frame for her ears from which golden earrings hung, studded with the most beautiful sapphires he had ever seen. He had always considered her beautiful, but tonight of all the special nights, she looked every inch an angel from heaven.

Such a gorgeous sight needed an equally gorgeous compliment, but Tegryn was unable to do so. He just stood rooted to the spot, fighting desperately to say the words - any words at all would've done, but it was no use - he was totally dumbfounded.

"Wow, you... I mean... wow..."

Musa smiled sweetly as she walked over to him slowly before putting her arms around him and kissing him tenderly. By this time, Tegryn's heart was going totally crazy, half overwhelmed by her sheer beauty, and half-intoxicated by the delicate perfume that she wore.

"You took your time Teggy." she said, licking her lips with more than a hint of mischief. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd got lost again!"

He smiled lovingly.

"Musa, I could never be lost if you're there to find me."


	31. Gone a Bit Batty

****

The night had started to set in, the fireflies were flitting around in the evening sky doing whatever it is fireflies do, and the Alfea Prom was in full swing. The party had been set well and truly pumping thanks to a top-quality DJ set courtesy of Mimi and Nini, and now things were getting all nice and smoochy, with various couples slow-dancing to some romantic tunes.

Faragonda smiled at the sweet scene of young love being played out in front of her - Tegryn wrapping Musa up in a warm embrace and whispering sweet nothings whilst occasionally nibbling her ear, Bloom and Sky gliding magnificently around the dancefloor as only royalty can, Layla and Jason making the most of their fledgling romance, Anyuna getting more than just a little attention from the single guys in the room, and a couple of the partygoers about to cut into the huge cake that took pride of place at the centre of the buffet.

_'Wait a minute...'_ she thought to herself. _'I don't remember organising a huge cake for this prom... oh no.'_

Yes, she had an inkling of what was about to happen, and sure enough she wasn't wrong.

Without warning, the cake exploded and the room was instantly filled with a chorus of terrified screams as a huge flock of giant(ish) bats came bursting out, creating a ominous swirling black cloud as they circled around the room.

The Winx girls remained calm, for they were familiar with this sort of thing. Tegryn on the other hand looked on horrified, but not by the bats - he was more concerned about who would even dream of ruining his big night. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed what looked like two girls peering in through a crack in the large double doors.

Quietly he slipped away from the others and snuck into an adjoining corridor, making his way as silently as possible until he eventually he caught sight of them.

"You there!" he called angrily.

The two girls' laughter instantly stopped as they turned their heads to see Tegryn approaching with a look of thunder on his face. They looked at each other, then bolted down the corridor as fast as they could go. Tegryn tried to keep pace with the lithe teenagers but he found the going difficult.

_'Well, if they're not going to slow down for me, I'll just have make them!'_

With a quick wave of his hand, he sent out a telekinetic wave, taking the girls' legs out from under them. They landed in a heap on the floor in less than elegant fashion. They tried frantically to back away, but only found a solid wall behind them.

Tegryn had them cornered, and at last he was able to get a better look at them. The girl on the left, with piercing green eyes, nose-ring and spiky bleached hair tried desperately to reason with him.

"Hey come on man, it was just a joke okay? A bit of harmless fun, that's all."

"I don't think he's buying it Morgan." said the other girl, brushing her long thick black curls out of her face to reveal a mischievous grin.

"Sure looks that way Noir," Morgan sniggered, "But it was worth it so see the look on those pixies' faces - eww, bats! Get 'em outta my oh-so-pretty hair!"

The two young witches burst into laughter, but Tegryn had had enough - he was in no mood for small-talk.

"So this is all one big laugh, is it? Just one big hilarious joke?" he growled. "Why? Why did you have to do that, on tonight of all nights? Tonight was supposed to be special, but you've ruined everything! Who are you anyway? TELL ME!"

"Now calm down Tegryn." a voice piped up from behind him. "They're perfectly harmless."

"Harmless? Why you..." Morgan snapped.

Tegryn turned around to see who it was. "Discorda!" he exclaimed with some relief. "You know these girls?"

"Yes, I've seen them around. They're from Cloud Tower." the pixie replied. "Well, they're Cloud Tower hopefuls, anyway."

"Hmph! That still doesn't explain why they did that."

"Crashing the Alfea Prom is something of a Cloud Tower tradition, and I'm assuming these two have decided to take on this task as part of their entrance exam. The Cloud Tower witches try to crash the Alfea Prom almost every time, and this time it's looks like they actually succeeded. Even Icy, Darcy and Stormy failed when they tried it."

"The Trix failing? Never!" Tegryn chuckled sarcastically. "These girls must be good then. We'll have to keep an eye on them."

"Wow! Do you know the Trix?" said Noir.

"Yes, unfortunately. I've had more than enough run-ins with them, and to cap it all off I think Darcy seems to be obsessed with me. It's quite pathetic really."

"They're not pathetic." Noir retorted.

"Yeah, they're like the coolest witches ever!" Morgan added. "And there's no way Darcy's crushing on YOU - you ain't that hot."

"Yes, whatever." said Discorda impatiently. "You girls have had your fun, it's time you went back to school!" The pixie opened a portal beneath them, through which they quickly vanished.

Tegryn looked at Discorda and smiled. "So what are YOU doing here then? I didn't think proms were your style."

Discorda chuckled. "Even all the way from Cloud Tower, I could sense from you that something big was going to happen tonight... something I wouldn't want to miss."

"Heh. I can't keep anything from you, can I?"

"Of course not. Now come on, back to the Prom with you. The others will be wondering where you've got to."


	32. Musa's Song

Tegryn and Discorda returned to the main dance hall to find some of the other having a quick clean-up before carrying on with the party, but luckily for them, there wasn't that much work that needed doing. Apart from the exploded cake, there were remarkably few bat droppings scattered around the place.

"Well at least those two were considerate enough to use house-trained bats!" Tegryn joked.

Musa turned around and grinned. "Oh THERE you are! We were starting to get worried. Where did you take off to anyway?"

"Oh, just teaching a pair of naughty witches a lesson. Maybe they'll think twice before trying to spoil our fun again."

"Oooh, my big bad grumpy Teggy!" she said teasingly, patting his chest. "Well don't you worry, I'll have you totally cheered up before the end of the night!"

Tegryn raised his eyebrows slightly - he couldn't help noticing Musa had a telltale cheeky glint in her eye when she said that.

_'Hello, she's got something planned... I wonder what?'_

Happily, he didn't have to wait long to find out.

Satisfied that the cleanup had been completed, Faragonda walked onto the stage and took a microphone. "Well, now that that little interruption's out of the way, I believe one of our pupils has a musical number she'd like to perform..."

"That's our cue!"

Musa grabbed Tegryn's hand and hurriedly started walking him towards the stage.

"Whoa Musie, wait a minute!" Tegryn said. "I hope you're not expecting me to sing!"

"Come on Teggy, it'll be fine!" she replied, winking.

"No, please, I'm not a very good singer." he protested. "I have it on very good authority that I sing like a strangled cat!"

Unluckily for him (unlucky at the time anyway), Musa wasn't listening and they were soon up on the stage in front of everyone. Tegryn stood there, looking nervously at the crowd whilst Musa fetched a chair.

"Who said anything about YOU singing, dummy?" she said as she sat him down. "All you have to do is sit there and listen."

Tegryn looked on bemused as he watched her take the mic from Faragonda. She turned around and fixed him with a loving, sultry look which nearly melted his heart.

"Teggy," she said, talking as clearly into the microphone as her emotions would let her. "My darling Tegryn... we've had some really tough times lately, but now things are totally cool and my love for you is stronger than ever. Ever since you returned to me, I've been trying hard to think of the best way to show you just how much I love you, and I think I've found the perfect song to express how I feel."

She looked over her shoulder and gave a signal to Mimi, who was sitting at a grand piano, and Nini who stood next to her sister with a violin in her hands - Tegryn guessed that amongst their many hobbies and talents, playing classical instruments was one of them. As they struck up a soft intro, Musa walked towards Tegryn, placed her hand tenderly on his cheek, and smiled.

"Now, this is a song from Earth, so you may already know it..."

♪ _You look into my eyes ♪_  
♪ _I go out of my mind ♪_  
♪ _I can't see anything ♪_  
♪ _Cos this love's got me blind ♪_  
♪ _I can't help myself ♪_  
♪ _I can't break the spell ♪_  
♪ _I can't even try ♪_  
♪ _I'm in over my head ♪_  
♪ _You got under skin ♪_  
♪ _I got no strength at all ♪_  
♪ _In the state that I'm in ♪_

♪ _And my knees are weak ♪_  
♪ _And my mouth can't speak ♪_  
♪ _Fell too far this time ♪_

♪ _Baby, I'm too lost in you ♪  
_♪ _Caught in you ♪_  
♪ _Lost in everything about you ♪_  
♪ _So deep, I can't sleep ♪_  
♪ _I can't think ♪_  
♪ _I just think about the things that you do ♪_  
♪ _I'm too lost in you ♪_  
♪ _Too lost in you ♪_

♪ _Well you whispered to me ♪_  
♪ _And I shiver inside ♪_  
♪ _You undo me and move me ♪_  
♪ _In ways undefined ♪_  
♪ _And you're all I see ♪_  
♪ _And you're all I need ♪_  
♪ _Help me baby (help me baby) ♪_  
♪ _Help me baby (help me now) ♪_

♪ _Cos I'm slipping away ♪_  
♪ _Like the sand to the tide ♪_  
♪ _Falling into your arms ♪_  
♪ _Falling into your eyes ♪_  
♪ _If you get too near ♪_  
♪ _I might disappear ♪_  
♪ _I might lose my mind ♪_

♪ _Baby, I'm too lost in you ♪_  
♪ _Caught in you ♪_  
♪ _Lost in everything about you ♪_  
♪ _So deep, I can't sleep ♪_  
♪ _I can't think ♪_  
♪ _I just think about the things that you do (you do) ♪_  
♪ _I'm too lost in you ♪_  
♪ _Too lost in you ♪_

♪ _I'm going in crazy in love for you baby ♪_  
♪ _(I can't eat and I can't sleep) ♪_  
♪ _I'm going down like a stone in the sea ♪_  
♪ _Yeah, no one can rescue me ♪_  
♪ _Oh ooooh oh-oh ♪_

As her song built up to the finale, it was clear that Musa was really getting swept away in the moment - the microphone was clutched close to her chest, her eyes were closed, and it was clear to everyone that she was on the verge of tears. It wasn't very often that she had sung a song with so much purpose, so much energy... and so much heart.

♪ _Baby, I'm too lost in you ♪_  
♪ _Caught in you ♪_  
♪ _Lost in everything about you ♪_  
♪ _So deep, I can't sleep ♪_  
♪ _I can't think ♪_  
♪ _I just think about the things that you do ♪_  
♪ _I'm too lost in you ♪_

♪ _I'm lost in you ♪_  
♪ _I'm lost in you ♪_  
♪ _I'm lost in everything about you ♪_  
♪ _So deep, I can't sleep ♪_  
♪ _I can't think ♪_  
♪ _I just think about the things that you do ♪_  
♪ _I'm too lost in you ♪_  
♪ _Too lost in you... ♪_

The song drew to its climax to rapturous applause from everyone in the hall. Musa took a moment to compose herself, drawing in deep breaths, but before she could open her eyes, she could feel the soft, warm touch of Tegryn's hands upon hers.

"That was amazing," she could hear him say above the cheering. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Try as he might, he couldn't hide the fact that he had also been moved close to tears by the shear depth of feeling in her song, and for someone who was usually so out of touch with his emotions, that was really saying something.

"Thank you," she said as she drew her arms around him. To even louder applause, they kissed, there and then in front of everyone, but they were totally oblivious to the noise, focusing completely on each other. Eventually, their very public show of affection ended and they stood there in an embrace, staring deep into each others eyes.

"I love you Musa."

Musa smiled - no matter how many times he said that, she could never get tired of it.

"I love you too Teggy." she replied as she started to lead him off the stage... but Tegryn didn't move.

"No babe... we're not finished here yet."

* * *

**Vaguely interesting fact: The song Musa was singing here is 'Too Lost In You' by the Sugababes – if you can hold of a copy, please do 'cos it's a hell of a beautiful song.**


	33. The REALLY Big Question

Alfea's dance hall buzzed with a quiet murmur, which slowly died down to a hush as Musa looked at Tegryn with a puzzled look on her face.

"Teggy, what's going on?"

Tegryn thanked Faragonda as she handed him the microphone. He looked around the room - most of the partygoers were stood there in complete silence, except for Anyuna who gave him a discreet thumbs-up - she knew what was about to go down.

"Musa, I love you. Mind you, I love everyone here. I love Charlotte, who's been like a little sister to me ever since the first day I met her. I love Anyuna, who will always be my very dear and trusted friend, not matter what. I love Mimi and Nini, who can brighten up a room just by walking into it. And I love Bloom, who's never too busy to lend an ear or give her friends a shoulder to cry on, and Stella, who doesn't need her Solarian powers to illuminate our lives."

Tegryn smiled as he finished saying that last sentence - he couldn't help noticing Stella was blushing just a little bit.

"I love Tecna, whose heart is just as big as her intellect, if not more so, and I love Flora, a kind and gentle soul who's as precious as the flowers she loves, and I love Layla, who energises all of us just by being there. And of course there's our friends from Red Fountain... I won't say 'I Love You' 'cos that'd just be too weird... I mean, a guy telling another guy... ah, what the hey - I love you guys!"

"We love you too Teggy!" Sky yelled. Tegryn laughed and waved to him, then turned back to his sweetheart.

"But you Musa... my darling, sweet Musa, I love you more than anyone or anything in the universe, and I love you in a way that I've never loved anyone before. You found me when I was lost, you saved me when I was in danger, and you stayed by my side when I needed it most, but that's not why I love you. I love you because you truly are my soulmate. These past couple of weeks have been tough for us, when we were split apart by those who are jealous of our happiness, and during that time apart I came to realise one important thing. Without you, my life is empty, it's nothing and meaningless. I can't bear to lose you again, and I hope you feel the same way."

Musa smiled, her heart sent fluttering by this unexpected massive romantic gesture. "I sure do!"

"I never want to lose you, I want to stay with you for ever. I want to be by your side, loving you and protecting you no matter what, and so there's one thing I must ask."

Tegryn took a deep breath and slowly sank down onto one knee. Bloom gasped as she watched this.

"Oh my! Is he going to...?"

"He is!" Anyuna whispered, barely able to contain her excitement. "He's gonna do it! He's really gonna do it!"

Tegryn looked up and looked at Musa, who gazed down upon him with a look of curious wonderment. He could see in her eyes exactly why they were so close - a spark of love and compassion that he knew only she could give to him. He could feel her hand quivering slightly - had she guessed what was about to happen? No matter, this was no time to start second guessing everything. He closed his eyes and steadied himself.

This was it.

This was the big moment, THE moment he had been rehearsing in his head ever since he returned to Alfea, THE moment that had occupied his mind for so long, overtaking almost every other thought. One way or another, he knew that the next five words to come out of his mouth would change his life forever. Just five little words... on their own, pretty minor, but when strung together like THIS...

He opened his eyes again and looked at her once more - this elegant figure with her dark sparkling eyes, her heavenly hair, her wonderful cheeky smile formed by those beautiful lips of hers - the sight of her nearly took his breath away, just like it did when he saw her for the very first time.

He took one more deep breath, and then... it was time to ask the big question.

"Musa... will you marry me?"


	34. The Even Bigger Answer

"Did Teggy really just say that?"

A huge collective gasp of amazement rang out across the dance hall. Most of the people stood there in awe, barely believing what he had just said, and not knowing what was going to happen next. Anyuna stared intently at Tegryn and Musa, mouthing the words "Say yes... please, say yes!", whilst Faragonda and Griselda looked on happily - ever since Tegryn told them about what he intended to do that night, they had been worried that he wouldn't have the guts to go through with it, especially in front of all their friends, so that fact he done it (and so eloquently too) made them especially proud... almost maternal in fact.

Musa, on the other hand, was going rather weak at the knees thanks to the millions of emotions and thoughts rushing through her at once. She looked down at Tegryn and smiled - he looked straight back at her, his eyes filled with hope and love.

All this was so sudden. They had only been dating for six, seven months, tops. She knew he loved her, but this was totally out of the blue - he had never mentioned anything like this to her before. Was he crazy? After all, she was still rather young and they were both still in school. Was it too soon to be talking about marriage, of all things?

But just as those negative doubts were creeping through her, her mind was cast back to all those happy times they had spent together - their first kiss, their romantic dates (especially the ultra-romantic one in the Clock Tower), all the laughter and joking, all those wonderful cuddles and kisses that he was only too happy to give her, and above all the sheer joy and happiness she felt when he came back to Alfea.

She remembered the things that he had just said...

_"Without you, my life is empty, it's nothing and meaningless. I can't bear to lose you again, and I hope you feel the same way." _

And as she did so, an intense warm feeling started building up inside her - indeed, she felt exactly the same way.

_"I never want to lose you, I want to stay with you for ever. I want to be by your side, loving you and protecting you no matter what..." _

Never in her life had she felt so loved, so wanted... and most importantly, all of those feelings were mutual - she didn't want to lose him neither. She bit her lip as another wave of emotion washed over her, and she could feel her breathing getting shorter.

_"Musa... will you marry me?" _

"Yes!" she blurted out uncontrollably, barely able to keep a lid on the powerful sensations within her. "Yes Teggy, I WILL marry you!"

Another huge gasp reverberated around the room - but this time, a gasp of delight.

"Really?" said Tegryn with a broad grin on his face, scarcely believing his ears.

Musa nodded. "Really!"

With that, Tegryn reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, which he opened to reveal an engagement ring, a simple gold band studded with three small rubies. He carefully took it out of the box and, taking her left hand in his own, tenderly slid it onto her finger - it was a perfect fit.

The prom suddenly exploded into a loud cheer as Tegryn stood up, took Musa in his arms and kissed her passionately, before embracing her, picking her up and spinning her around (just like they do in the movies), her dressing trailing behind her like a ribbon caught in a breeze. As they climbed down off the stage, they were immediately mobbed by their friends as they crowded around them to give their congratulations to the newly-engaged couple and to admire Musa's new ring.

Charlotte pushed her way through the crowd and gave Tegryn an extra big hug.

"Well done Teggy," she said, "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For all those sweet things you said about us."

Tegryn chuckled. "Aww, thanks. I meant every word of it too, straight from the heart... especially you Charlotte - you're the best friend a guy could have. After all, when everyone thought I had made that pass at Yuni and hanging with the Trix, you were the only one who wanted to believe I was innocent. Thank you." he said as he gave her another big hug.

As the merriment continued, Musa looked at her ring then gave Tegryn a sweet little kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear.

"Mrs Musa Devanallt..." she giggled. "I like the sound of that!"

**() THE END ()**


End file.
